Beauty and the Blacks
by House.of.Black
Summary: As Gwen Black struggles to keep her loyalties to both her House of Slytherin and her Gryffindor friends, she also struggles with her growing love for Sirius. All is against them, including destiny. Will they defeat destiny or will destiny defeat them?
1. Lost Generation

_**Prologue**_

_**June 1996**_

_It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arc._

_There was a look of mingled fear and surprise on Sirius' face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place. _

_Harry waited, knowing that Sirius had only fallen through the archway and would reappear from the other side any second…_

_But Sirius did not reappear. _

"_SIRIUS!" Harry yelled as he ran towards the veil, "SIRIUS!" _

"_There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing. He's gone," Remus said._

* * *

_**Summer 1996**_

"_First of all I must tell you that Sirius' will was discovered a week ago and that he left you everything he owned," Dumbledore said. _

"_You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of Sirius' personal possessions.""_

"_Our problem is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place."_

"_You can keep using it as Headquarters," Harry said. "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it."_

"_That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."_

"_Why?"_

"_Well," said Dumbledore, "Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black'. Sirius was the very last of the line as his younger brother, Regulus, predeceased him and both were childless."_

* * *

**June 15, 1997 Sunday, 4:08 PM**

Harry sat musingly in Shrieking Shack, missing Sirius more than ever, in the midst of his most recent loss.

After Dumbledore's funeral, he had come to the Shrieking Shack and had stayed here since then. Though Hermione and Ron had wanted to come with him, he had needed to be alone where he could freely relieve his emotions without concerning them.

Harry glanced around the worn old shack once again. With its broken furniture, shadowy interior, and foreboding exterior appearance, the shack was anything but welcoming yet Harry always felt such comfort and peace when he came to the shack.

Because the Shrieking Shack was where it had all begun. It was the Marauders' memoir. The Shrieking Shack had been the foundation of the birth of the Marauders, it had been Remus' coven, and this was where his father, Remus, and Sirius had had so many of their earlier escapades.

Sirius.

_What had Sirius been like before Azkaban? _Harry wondered.

Harry only knew the post-Azkaban Sirius; the Sirius who had been changed drastically by the horrors of Azkaban, the First War, and the many losses he, like Harry, had had to endure. The Sirius he, Harry, knew had had a constant shadow hanging over him.

But what about pre-Azkaban Sirius? There had been no hint of that shadow in Harry's first glimpse of Sirius, in the picture of his parents' wedding day. There had been only carefree happiness in the countenances of all three.

There had been no hint of that carefree happiness in the Sirius he knew. Yes, he laughed and made light of things at times but always, _always_ there had been that wariness about him.

Harry felt a sudden rush of fury overcome him. Because of Pettigrew's cowardliness and selfishness, because of the Ministry's inefficiency, an innocent man had lost thirteen years of his life. And most of all, he had lost his innocence.  
"They_stole_ his life!" he burst out with a sudden fury.

Remus, who had just entered the room and was looking around the room with slight nostalgia in his countenance turned to him, startled to see that he was not alone.  
He hesitated then spoke tentatively, "Harry?"

Harry jumped, as startled to see Remus as he had been to see Harry.

Harry managed a small smile, relieved to see that it was Remus. He could talk about Sirius to Remus. _He_ would understand. Everyone else merely looked sympathetic when he spoke of Sirius and what he needed was empathy, not sympathy.

"Remus, can you tell me what Sirius was like? Harry asked. "Before Azkaban?"

A look of nostalgia crossed Remus' face once again. "Of course."

"In the pictures I've seen of him, and in Snape's Pensieve, Sirius always looked so happy. So carefree and… _innocent_," Harry said quietly.

"Sirius was always happy before Azkaban…is that what you think?" Remus asked.

"You're right, in a way. He did always appear carefree and immature." Remus smiled wistfully.  
"But you saw what his mother was like. Even before Azkaban, Sirius wasn't exactly, as you say, _innocent_. Perhaps that's why he was even more carefree, more reckless given the chance," he added thoughtfully.

Harry nodded. "Sirius was always a joker yet was unexpectedly serious when necessary."  
"He would have made such a great dad," he added, with a slight smile.

"Perhaps. Though he did have a tendency to rush into things without thinking," said Remus.  
"I asked him once, why he couldn't just stop to think before he rushed into things," he said wistfully, lost in his reminiscences.

"And what did he say?" Harry asked, eager to know more of Sirius.

"He said that it was because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do it if he stopped to think about it," said Remus with a slight smile, a far away look in his eyes.

"So Sirius was afraid too," Harry said, with a wistful half smile.

"It's okay to be afraid, Harry. In fact, I would be concerned if you weren't. You have a big burden on your shoulders, Harry, and we can't lift it for you but we will try to lighten it as much as possible," Remus said gently.

"Thanks…And I'm glad about you and Tonks. You deserve to be happy," Harry added.

Remus didn't reply but looked away for a moment then turned back to him.

"Remus? How come Sirius never did get married?" Harry asked abruptly.  
"Is it because she died in the war?" he asked tentatively.

"No…the strange thing is, Sirius never _had_ anyone. Anyone _he_ cared for, that is. Plenty of girls fancied him, practically worshipped him, in fact. We always used to joke that Sirius would be the first to get married, yet he was the only one of the Marauder who never had anyone. James had Lily, I had Adrianne," Remus said, flinching slightly, "and _even Peter_…he had Saori."

"Peter?" said Harry with disgust.

"Yes. You only know the traitor Peter, Harry, but we were quite fond of our Peter," said Remus.

"He was always nothing more than a filthy traitor who always looked for people to protect him," Harry retorted.

"No, I think that somewhere along the line, he began to believe that we weren't his true friends. Particularly with Sirius; he was often rather impatient with him, but that didn't mean he liked him any less than we did. But we didn't detect any difference in him, as good friends would have," said Remus regretfully.

"Well, what about Sirius? Who did he have?" asked Harry, changing the subject.

"Yes, well, everyone usually has at least one love in their life," Remus said reflectively and continued, "but Sirius, he never had anyone."

"And it wasn't for lack of trying either. Sirius went through girlfriends like last year's fads…it used to drive your mother mad. Said he was using all those poor girls just for a little entertainment. But I could see how he got so lonely sometimes with all us lovebirds around. I think he was even envious at times." He laughed lightly then sighed.

"He dated plenty of girls, but he always said that it never felt _right._ He tried so hard…to make himself feel something for them but of course it never worked out. There was even this one girl, Cassie, who he was engaged to. But love can't be forced."

"Engaged? What happened?"

"She left him, because she knew what nobody else knew. Sirius was in love with somebody else."

"Somebody else?" Harry repeated, utterly bemused. First Remus had said that Sirius had never had anyone then he brought up Sirius' fiancé then his love.

"Yes. After Cassie left, he stopped dating all together. We thought it was because he was too heartbroken. And he was, but not over Cassie," said Remus.

"Then who-?"

"He was exhausted…he was tired of waiting. So he just stopped trying," Remus continued.

"Whenever Sirius broke up with someone and we asked him why he had, he would always give the same reply. 'She's not 'her'.' He later told me that it felt as if there was someone he was searching for…someone he was waiting for. He said that he knew, _somehow_, that if he ever saw her he would _recognize_ her."

"Why?" asked Harry, sounding almost angry. "Even people who try to avoid love are given chances at love. And Sirius was practically _seeking_ it. Why?!"  
"Why must his life be so tragic?" he demanded.

His entire life, Sirius had been enclosed by loneliness. Born into a pure-blood family with a warped ideology, he had been constantly despised and cast aside. When he had finally been given a chance at the happiness he deserved, his best friend had been killed, furthermore, because of a fellow friend's betrayal. To add insult to injury, he had been wrongfully sent to Azkaban because of that very friend. And Sirius, who perhaps had been the most in need of love, had been denied it.

Sirius was, without a doubt, the most tragic of those who had suffered under Voldemort.

His parents were tragic as well, losing their lives at such a young age, because of a friend's betrayal. But at least his parents had had each other. Who did Sirius have?

Remus continued.

"It wasn't after Sirius returned from Azkaban that he revealed why he couldn't love anyone else," Remus said.

"Anyone else?" Harry repeated. "But you just said that he never had anyone."

"He didn't. He saw her in his dreams," Remus replied.

"_Dreams_? Perhaps Azkaban _did_ unhinge him after all," Harry said incredulously.

"No. For some reason, as incredulous as it sounds, I believe him," Remus said.

Remus handed Harry a thick sketchbook he had been holding in his hand when he came into the room.

Harry flipped the pages of the sketches. Each page was with drawings of a girl with raven hair and violet eyes.

"It was Sirius'," Remus said, referring to the sketchbook.

"He constantly saw her in his dream and he waited for a long time, hoping that perhaps his dreams were visions, and that she would come soon. She never did though," said Remus.

"For years, her face haunted him, yet she remained nameless. That is, until a few weeks before his death.

"A few weeks?"

"Yes. He called out to her in his dream, and he knew that it _was_ her name," Remus said.

"What's her name?" Harry asked curiously.

"Gwen."

* * *

**January 1, 2010 Friday, 5:47 PM**

The new mother sat up in her bed as her husband brought their newborn and gently placed her in her arms.

"She's beautiful," the young mother breathed, gently feeling the child's silky blonde hair. Blonde hair she had inherited from her father, though it was a few shades darker than his platinum blonde.

The child gently stirred and opened her eyes, causing her mother to gasp and her father to smile.

"She has your eyes, Liana," he said softly.

They were exquisite eyes indeed. A color rarely seen in eyes, they were a shade of vivid violet.

Liana suddenly let out a sob and turned to her husband.  
"Why her, Draco? Why _her_? Our little daughter…our only daughter," she cried.

"Would you rather it be one of our sons then?" Draco asked quietly, a pained smile on his face.

Liana immediately stopped crying and stared at him in horror at the very suggestion. "Oh, of course not! You _know_ that's not what I mean. I wouldn't trade them for anything but oh, our only daughter!"

A pained look crossed his face but he smiled for Liana's sake.

"You knew it was going to be hard, Liana. You knew from the beginning that we wouldn't be able to keep her with us," said Draco.

"Why can't we? She's our daughter! Let the Death Eaters try and get us!" Liana said rebelliously.

"Be reasonable, Liana. It's not like you to be so irrational," Draco said, soothingly putting his arms around her and the baby.

"If the Death Eaters do find us? We'll become another Lily and James Potter case and our daughter will suffer a fate worse than death. You know she will; she'll merely become a tool for the Dark Side.

Liana nodded, hugging her baby closer to her at the thought. "I know. It's just that…I have this feeling that I'll never see her again," she whispered.

Draco stared at her, startled. He had been trying to escape the same premonition himself.

_No, that's ridiculous. It isn't a premonition; it's only natural to feel anxiety under circumstances such as this one, _he told himself.

"Don't say such a thing, Liana," Draco said, rather sharper than he had intended.

"Of course we will see her again. It's only temporarily, only a few years at most, until we can provide better protection for her," he consoled her in a softer voice.

Liana looked down at their child, a queer look passing over her face.

"Harry's waiting to bring her to safety," Draco prompted gently. He gently her face upward so that her vivid violet eyes looked into his. "You trust me, don't you?"

Liana nodded and gently pressed a kiss to the child's forehead. "Goodbye," she whispered, looking down into her bright violet eyes.

Draco gently took the child from her arms and Liana silently watched them until the door had closed behind them. "Yes, perhaps we will see her again but when we do, it won't be as our daughter," she said into the vacant room.

* * *

**January 3, 2010 Sunday, 10:12 AM**

Draco and Liana were silently sitting in their bedroom in Malfoy Manor, both consumed by the pain and misery of losing their first and only daughter, when a large grey owl tapped on their window.

Liana opened the window and received the package from the owl.  
"It's from Dad," she said as she opened the letter. She then reached to open the package.

"It's a… _diary,_" said Liana, looking at the open package.

'_Gwendolyn Black,__ a Chronicles of__ Hogwarts and Beyond', _Liana read out loud then sighed with disappointment as she opened it.  
"It's blank," she said, slightly bemused.

Draco took the diary and carefully examined diary. It was a small, pocket-sized book with a solid gold lock and had the Black Crest encrusted on the cover. As he looked over the blank pages, he recalled the diary he had discovered in his father's study when he was young.

"Just because it looks blank doesn't mean that it actually is. Knowing Aunt Gwen, she probably put a spell on it so that only the intended receiver can read it," Draco informed her.

He was immediately proven correct when pages of the diary began to flutter and images began to appear before them as if in a movie.

_There was no one who was fortunate enough to escape totally unaffected by the First and Second War. Everyone lost something in the war. Their innocence, dreams, hopes, courage, heart; whatever it may be, everyone lost something. The grief, the heartbreaks, and the broken families. As unfortunate as it is, it is a natural part of war. The heart never fully recovers from such losses. _

_Most of the blame for the wars was cast on the Slytherins. The majority of the Death Eaters were Slytherins and Slytherin had always had it's ideology against Muggle-borns and Muggles; the ideology that was the apparent cause of the war. What most people don't realize is that the Slytherins are the largest casualties of the war. The Slytherins, they lost __**themselves**_

_After the war, they were never the same. Having been a Slytherin myself, though I do not agree with the Death Eaters, I am able to understand them. The Death Eaters weren't always what they are today. The most notorious Death Eaters were all Slytherins; all friends and relatives I once knew very well. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Evan Rosier, Severus Snape, and Regulus Black; before they became Death Eaters, they were just ordinary witches and wizards with ordinary lives. Lucius was compassionate and fair, and Bellatrix and Narcissa were vivacious and blithe. But the war came and the darkness took over. _

_Afterwards, Slytherin always became the outcast amongst the other Houses. Slytherins were always depicted as cruel and arrogant. Prejudiced and heartless… Some even went as far to say that all Slytherins are dark wizards and witches. But it wasn't always so. There was a time, before the war and before the rise of Voldemort, when being a Slytherin wasn't all about being pure of blood. When the essential traits of a Slytherin __**were**__ ambition and cunning, as it should be. There was a time when we Slytherins weren't feared and despised but admired and respected. Then the darkness took over and nothing was ever the same. This is our story; the Slytherins, the lost generation._

* * *

**September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 10:25 AM**

The Blacks stood in platform nine and three-quarters, looking up at the Hogwarts Express with a mixture of joy and melancholy.

"I still can't believe the children are already going to Hogwarts, Orion. It seems like just yesterday that I left myself," Walburga said with slight wonder.

"Yes, children do grow up fast, don't they? Anyhow, it's good to be back," Orion replied.

Walburga suddenly grabbed Sirius and Gwen in a hug.

"Oh! My babies are going up so fast!" she cried tearfully.

Sirius and Gwen turned red as they tried to break free from their mother's grasp.

"Mother! Lucius and Aquila are laughing at us!" Sirius protested with embarrassment. Fortunately for him, they were also pulled into their own mother's grasp within the next minute.

"Look Mother! Aunt Druella and Narcissa are here," Gwen said, finally managing to pull away as her mother went to greet her sister-in-law.

Several minutes later, she came back to give them a final hug.

"Have a nice first term Sirius, Gwen," Orion said, looking at them with pride evident in his face.

"I expect you to owl me as soon as you get settled in," Walburga called after them as they scrambled onto the train with their cousin, Narcissa, and the Malfoy twins, Lucius and Aquila.

"I want to go too," Regulus whined.

"You're not of age, Regulus. Besides, I'll be so lonely if I send all three of my babies at once," Walburga said fondly.

"Alright. But I get to go next year!" Regulus said excitedly.

"Of course," Walburga said with resignation.

The Blacks and the Malfoys quickly found a compartment at the end of the train where their other friends, Magus Avery and Rabastan Lestrange, joined them.

Sirius and Gwen placed their trunks on the luggage rack and raced to the compartment window as they train started.

"Bye Mother, Dad, and Reg!" Sirius and Gwen yelled, and waved until the train had rounded the corner.

"I can't believe we're finally going to Hogwarts," Gwen said excitedly, once they had settled down. "We've been hearing about it for years and now we _finally_ get to go."

"I just can't wait till we get there. I've wanted to go ever since Bella went," said Narcissa happily.

Rabastan nodded in agreement. "Rodolphus is always going on about how much fun it is at Hogwarts. Now we can find out for ourselves."

"You guys are lucky. At least you have older siblings who can tell you all about Hogwarts," said Lucius to Narcissa and Rabastan. "I've heard Hogwarts has changed a bit since our parents' age."

"Aw, poor Lucy. And at least Sirius and I have cousins like Bella and Andy who tell us everything," Gwen teased.

Lucius turned pink. "Don't call me Lucy," he said with embarrassment.

"Why not? Your mother calls you that," Gwen grinned.

"She calls him a lot of things," Aquila piped up. "When we were younger she used to call him-"

The others laughed as Lucius jumped up and covered his twin's mouth with his hand. Aquila simply grinned innocently back at him.

"As I was saying, Hogwarts should be very fun this year," Lucius said hastily.

"And I can't wait to learn magic. I finally get to learn how to hex Lucius!" Aquila teased, and squealed as he began to chase her around the small compartment.

"Hmm…imagine all the pranks we can play on the Gryffindors. It's going to be an interesting seven years with all of us in Slytherin," said Sirius with a grin, while the others laughed and nodded in agreement.

**If only he knew…It would be an interesting seven years alright but not quite in the way Sirius had imagined.**

_("There's Aunt Gwen…and Uncle Sirius. Ever the prankster," said Draco fondly._

"_And there's your mother and father," said Liana putting her hand comfortingly on Draco's shoulder. _

"_I've never seen them look so carefree and…__**happy**__," said Draco sadly, intently watching as his young parents laughed cheerily.)_

* * *


	2. 411

A story for Marauder fans. xD

A story of the Marauders, especially Sirius and Gwen Black, and their 7th year and onwards.

Protagonists:

Marauders-Sirius Black, Gwendolyn Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew  
The Blacks- Regulus Black, Narcissa Black

Ships:

Sirius/Gwen  
James/Lily  
Remus/OC  
Peter/OC  
Regulus/OC  
Narcissa/Lucius

**As the years go by Gwendolyn Black is forced to watch as one by one, her childhood friends slip over to the Dark Side. Gwen has always managed to keep her loyalty to both her House of Slytherin and to her Gryffindor friends. But now comes a time when her loyalty to one side is betrayal to the other. As Gwen struggles with her loyalties, she must also struggle with her growing love for her adoptive brother Sirius Black. They share a forbidden love continuously tested by the condemnation of their parents, society, and even their destiny. Will they defeat destiny or will destiny defeat them?**

Profiles:

Name: Gwendolyn Starr Black.  
Eyes: Violet.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: The protagonist of the series, a Slytherin and Sirius' adopted sister. The two have been inseparable since birth and develop a strong love for each other. However, fate interferes on more than one occasion and she begins to realize that perhaps they weren't meant to be.

Name: Regulus Articulus Black.  
Eyes: Gray-green.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: 'My idiot brother…soft enough to believe them his parents', Sirius says of him. Everyone knows that Regulus was killed for 'betraying' the Death Eaters. The question is, why did he? Was it because he as much of a coward as Sirius made him out to be or was there more to his 'betrayal' than Sirius realizes?

Name: Sirius Lee Black.  
Eyes: Gray-blue.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: Gwen's 'twin brother.' In his 6th year Sirius discovers the family secret that forces him to run away from home, leaving everything and everyone including Gwen.

Name: James Potter.  
Eyes: Hazel.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: Close friend of Sirius and Gwen and one of the Marauders.

Name: Remus Lupin.  
Eyes: Chocolate-brown.  
Hair: Sandy brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: One of the Marauders; a boy who has suffered as a werewolf since the time he was bitten at the age of four. Greyback had bitten him because Remus' father had offended him, Remus says. But what was that particular offense?

Name: Peter Pettigrew.  
Eyes: Brown.  
Hair: Mousy brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: The traitor amongst their midst. What was it about Peter that had everyone including Dumbledore himself believe that he was incapable of betrayal? 'A weak, talentless thing' Sirius called him. But perhaps he was more powerful and crafty then he was given credit for, in order for him to be capable of being a double agent for over a year.

Name: Severus Snape.  
Eyes: Black.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: A good friend of Gwen's and enemy of Sirius'. What is the reason for his turning against the Dark Side and becoming a spy? Or _did_ he…

Name: Rabastan Lestrange  
Eyes: Toffee-brown.  
Hair: Dirty Blonde.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: A fellow Slytherin of Gwen's year and a childhood friend.

Name: Evan Rosier.  
Eyes: Pale blue.  
Hair: Light brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: A fellow Slytherin of Gwen's year and Narcissa's cousin.

Name: Lucius Malfoy.  
Eyes: Grey.  
Hair: White-blonde.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: One of the most infamous and cold-hearted Death Eaters today Lucius wasn't always as infamous and cold-hearted but in fact, almost the complete opposite. There was a time when he was admired and even liked by people of all Houses. When he didn't use wealth and fear to manipulate his way but used his charisma and charm. Then the darkness took over, leaving him the most changed out of them all.

Name: Aquila Malfoy.  
Eyes: Silver-grey.  
Hair: White-blonde.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: Slytherin in Gwen's year. Gwen's best friend and Lucius Malfoy's twin sister.

Name: Narcissa Malfoy.  
Eyes: Turquoise.  
Hair: Golden blonde.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: Gwen's cousin and best friend Together she, Gwen, and Aquila were Slytherin's Golden trio, predecessors of the legendary Gryffindor trio.

Name: Morgan Dolohov.  
Eyes: Hazel.  
Hair: Chestnut brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: A Slytherin in the year below Gwen who has recently transferred from another school. At first glance, she appears sweet and innocent but she is anything but that; a fact Regulus realizes much too late.

Name: Christopher (Chris) Davison.  
Eyes: Hazel.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Durmstrang/Delta.  
Details: James' cousin who is 3 years older than Gwen and the Marauders.

Name: Diana Wood.  
Eyes: Ocean-blue.  
Hair: Chestnut brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: Chris' youngest sister. She is also in Gryffindor, 3 years below Gwen and the Marauders.

Name: Kara Matthews.  
Eyes: Violet.  
Hair: Copper-red.  
School/House: Durmstrang/Alpha.  
Details: A young member of the Order who and a Healer at St. Mungo's. She is two years older than Gwen and the Marauders and has also graduated from Durmstrang.

Name: Adrianne Belby.  
Eyes: Honey-brown.  
Hair: Golden-brown.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Ravenclaw.  
Details:Remus' first love; even nearly 20 years later, the scars of her memory have yet to heal…

Name: Saori Kim.  
Eyes: Dark brown.  
Hair: Black.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Hufflepuff.  
Details: '—and _even Peter_…he had Saori,' Remus said. What is Peter's story?

Name: Lily Evans.  
Eyes: Emerald green.  
Hair: Auburn.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Gryffindor.  
Details: A Gryffindor of Gwen's year. Upon seeing Snape's worst memory in his Pensieve, Harry fears that perhaps his mother hated his father. Did she or did she not? And what made her choose James over the giant squid in the end?

Name: Draco Malfoy.  
Eyes: Silver-grey.Hair: Platinum blonde.  
School/House: Hogwarts/Slytherin.  
Details: Only son of Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.

Name: Liana Malfoy.  
Eyes: Violet.  
Hair: Chestnut brown.  
School/House: Durmstrang/Alpha.  
Details: Draco's wife. She receives a diary that reveals the long buried secrets of her past.


	3. Disillusion

**Chapter 1: Disillusion**

**September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 2:30 PM**

"Where's Sirius?" Gwen moaned, looking restless.

"Relax, Gwen. He's been gone for half a hour," said Aquila, rolling her eyes.

"You know how she gets. She gets anxious if he's out of sight for two seconds," Narcissa teased.

"I do not!" Gwen retorted.

"Fine. Three seconds," Narcissa amended.

The others laughed and Gwen got up huffily. "I'm going to go find Sirius," she snapped.

"Oh, come on, Gwen. You know we were only teasing," Rabastan said soothingly.

Lucius stood up to join her. "I'll go with you. I have to find someone as well," he said.

"Who're you looking for?" asked Aquila.

"Severus," Lucius replied. "He's probably sitting by himself."

"Severus? Who's he?" asked Magus.

"Severus Snape. He's a friend of mine. His mother is a friend of my mother's," Lucius answered.

"How come we don't know him," Rabastan asked curiously.

After all, the pure-blood society wasn't very large and the majority knew each other since they tended to keep amongst themselves.

"His father's a Muggle. Severus is decent though," Lucius added.

"Come on, let's go," said Gwen impatiently.

The two left their compartment and began looking through the other compartments, looking for their friends.

A compartment ahead opened and a shabby looking boy with overlong black hair and sallow cheeks came out followed by a pretty girl with dark red hair and bright green eyes.

"Severus!" Lucius greeted him with a smile.

Severus stopped and looked at him, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Lucius," he said nervously.

"Who's your friend?" Lucius asked, looking over at the girl.

"She's a friend from near my neighborhood," Severus said warily.

Gwen stifled a laugh. The girl was clearly a Muggle-born. And Lucius had said that his friend was _decent_.

"A Muggle-born?" said Lucius, his tone even.

"She has lots of magic," Severus said defensively.

Lucius looked between the two then held a hand out to the girl. "Lucius Malfoy."

Gwen's jaw dropped in shock. Lucius offering to shake hands with a girl of_Muggle heritage_?

Meanwhile, Severus looked immensely relieved and Lucius smiled discretely at him.

The girl shook his hand with a eager smile. "I'm Lily Evans."

She then held out her hand to Gwen.

Gwen stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to do, then hesitantly took her hand. "Gwen Black."

"Why don't you come sit in our compartment, Severus?" Lucius offered.

Severus looked over at Lily then shook his head. "No, it's alright."

"Alright then. I'll see you later, I guess," said Lucius.  
"By the way, have either of you seen anyone called Sirius?" he added.

"I don't think I have," said Severus.

"The name kind of sounds familiar," said Lily, frowning in concentration, then made a face as she recalled him as one of the boys who had entered her compartment.  
"Oh, him," she said flatly.

She motioned over to the compartment she had left with a irritated look on her face. "He's in there."

"What's wrong with Sirius?" demanded Gwen, offended.

"He-nothing," said Lily, looking taken aback at her reaction. "Why? Who is he?"

"He's my twin," Gwen said proudly.

"Oh! Er…that's nice," said Lily.

At that moment, Sirius came out of the compartment. "I'll see you later, James. I have to go back now," he was saying.

"She probably didn't even notice that you're gone yet," said the boy next to him, who was apparently named James.  
He then caught sight of Gwen and Lucius. "Or not," he added.

Sirius grinned as he saw Gwen. "Come on, let's go," he said, taking her hand.

Lily and Severus stared after them as they walked back to their compartment hand in hand.

"She_did_ say they're twins?"

"Oh, they are," Lucius said airily.  
"They've always been like that. You don't even notice it after awhile," he said with a shrug, then hurried after them.

After changing into their school robes, the three headed back to their compartment to find the Rabastan and Magus standing outside.

"Why are you two standing outside?" Sirius snickered.

"The girls needed to change so they kicked us out," Rabastan explained.

"Mmm…yeah," Magus muttered distractedly as he tried to peek in through the compartment window.

Lucius smacked him around the head. "That's my sister in there," he snapped.

"And my cousin," Sirius added.

"That's right," Lucius muttered, discretely trying to look in the compartment window as well.

"You lot are a bunch of perverts," Gwen snapped, pushing Lucius out of the way and covering the window.

"_I_ wasn't looking," Rabastan protested.

"Of course, you're a perfect gentleman, aren't you?" said Gwen, winking at him.

Rabastan beamed.

"Oh no…here they go again," Lucius muttered.

And sure enough, Sirius snapped, "So what? I wasn't looking either."

"It doesn't count when one of them is your cousin," Gwen put in, rolling her eyes.

"What about Lucius? Aquila's in there and he was still looking," said Sirius.

"Was not. Don't drag me into this," said Lucius testily.

"Hey, look. They're letting us back in," he added, changing the subject.

The door opened and everyone filed back into the compartment.

"What took you so long? You have any idea how difficult it was for me to ward this lot away from the window?" Gwen complained.

"Perverts," Aquila muttered.

"Thanks for your concern but you needn't have bothered. We put a spell on the window," said Narcissa with a sweet smile.

"Apparently no one did manage to look in," Aquila said with satisfaction, surveying the boys' faces.

"What would have happened if we did," asked Magus.

"Let's just say that it would be very painful on your eyes ," said Narcissa sweetly.

"You can thank me that your eyes are fine," Gwen said importantly.

The boys exchanged smirks, the boys tackled her at once.

"Thank you, Gwen! Thank you!"

"We owe you our lives!"

"What would we do without you?"

"How can we ever thank you enough?"

"You can start by getting off of me," Gwen said dryly, her voice muffled.  
"Aquila, Narcissa," she added pointedly.

Aquila and Narcissa who had been laughing began to pry the boys off.

"Hey, look! The food cart's coming," said Aquila.

The boys immediately straightened and looked around for the cart.

"Where is it?" they asked stupidly.

Aquila grinned. "Works every time."

She high-fived Gwen and Narcissa and the three giggling girls raced out of the compartment as the boys began to chase them.

Gwen laughed as Sirius caught up with her and tackled her from behind. She leaned back against him with a contented sigh.  
"Only two more hours until we get there, Sirius. Two hours," she said dreamily.

* * *

**September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 7:30 PM**

The rest of the train ride and the boat ride over the river had flown by, or swum by in the case of the boat ride, and it was time for the sorting. Gwen nervously shifted back and forth as she stood on the long line of first years waiting to be sorted into their various Houses.

_What if I don't get into Slytherin? I want to be with my friends! Or WORSE what if I end up in __**Gryffindor**__? Mother's going to be furious! She would say that it's such a__**disgrace**__! What would my friends say? Especially Sirius! He would __**never**__ let me live it down if I got into Gryffindor!!_ Gwen thought anxiously as she began to panic.

"Sirius…what if I don't get into Slytherin?" asked Gwen anxiously.

"We'll still love you even if you don't get into Slytherin…_probably._Unless you get into _Gryffindork_of course," teased Sirius.

"It's alright. Of course _you're_ going to be in Slytherin. You're a _**Black**_" Sirius said seriously when he saw that Gwen was on the verge of panicking.

"_I'm_ the one who should be worried," he muttered to himself, his handsome face darkening for a moment, before he grinned encouragingly at Gwen.

"You make it sound as if you're _not_ a Black," Gwen snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I just meant that since you're a part of the 'Noble House of Black' which has been in Slytherin for ages, you're bound to be in Slytherin," said Sirius hastily.

Luckily for Sirius, Gwen was called up before she had a chance to question him farther and he sighed in relief.

Gwen quickly ran to the stool and put the hat on her head, barely able to contain her excitement.

_Slytherin! I want to be in Slytherin!_ Gwen thought fervently.

** So Slytherin for you? **

**Pure-blood? Check. **

**Sly? Check. **

**Ambitious? Check**

**Evil? Check –**

_HEY! I am NOT __**evil**__! I __**think**__…_ Gwen protested.

** No, of course not, just a little humor on my part, **the hat chuckled.

**Now to get down to business…y****our destiny is a very mysterious one indeed. Each House will lead to completely different paths for you. Different yet both very **_**great**_** paths, in their individual ways. **

_As long as it's Slytherin,_ Gwen prayed.

** I suppose we can't go wrong with Slytherin. So Slytherin it shall be. **

**SLYTHERIN!!!**

Gwen sat at the Slytherin table where she was welcomed by all her relatives and acquaintances. Being one of the first in their year to be sorted, her friends hadn't been sorted yet and Gwen cheered as Narcissa also became a Slytherin then eagerly waited as Sirius was called.

Sirius walked confidently toward the stool, his calm demeanor revealing none of his earlier misgivings. When he sat down, he grinned at Gwen before jamming the hat on his head.

** Ah. Sirius Black. You **_**are**_** a natural Slytherin, by birthright and by blood, but I see that perhaps Slytherin isn't the House for you after all. **

_How can Slytherin be my birthright? Neither of my parents were in Slytherin. __Both of them were in Ravenclaw…_ Sirius thought curiously.

**Is that so****In any case I believe that though your birthright **_**is**_** Slytherin, your destiny lies with Gryffindor.**

_WHAT?! GRYFFINDOR? You're __**kidding**__ me. _

** I'm afraid not. **

_Please! You can't __**do**__this to me. I was just fooling around when I told James that I might get into Gryffindor, I wasn't __**serious**__ or anything, _Sirius begged. _Everyone I know is in Slytherin. What would I say to Gwen? We promised that we would always be together! And what would Mother and Dad say if I don't get into Slytherin? Especially if I get into Gryffindor! I don't want to let them down...after all they've done for me. What would I say to __**Regulus**__? I'm supposed to set the example for him!_

** You're destiny is in Gryffindor. It has been altered too much already and this **_**must not **_**change. You must not alter your destiny to what **_**others**_** want. **

_You can't __**separate**__ us!!! Please, don't be so heartless! _Sirius pled.  
_No pun intended…_he added hastily.

** You and your Gwen have different paths in life. Your destiny is set in Gryffindor and she has chosen a path in Slytherin. Your destinies have always lain apart from each other's and it is best to lead you to your separate ways now, before it is too late. It is the way things must be.**

The other Blacks sat at the Slytherin table, looking expectantly at Sirius.

"Why even bother with the hat," drawled Bellatrix.

"Yeah, he's obviously going to be in Slytherin," Gwen put in.

"He_**is**_ a Black after all," Narcissa said boastingly.

The other Slytherins rolled their eyes but didn't bother to retort since they knew it _was_ the truth, when to everyone's shock the hat announced,

**GRYFFINDOR!!**

_("I still can't believe that he was in Gryffindor. How is anyone related to ME a Gryffindor?!" said Draco with exasperation. _

"_And to think everyone thought that __**he**__ was Voldemort's right man." _

_He snorted and continued, "What I still don't understand is __**how**__ Aunt Gwen and Uncle Sirius could have—" _

_He was stopped abruptly as Liana clapped her hand over his mouth. )_

Sirius sat on the stool in disbelief as the entire Slytherin table gasped. There was a small amount of scattered applause at the Slytherin table which immediately halted as they realized what they had heard.

Everywhere he turned, Sirius was met with shock and confusion at best. The Professors' confusion, other than Slughorn who appeared to be highly disappointed, and the other Houses' surprise.

He looked longingly towards the Slytherin table and his heart sank as he saw the shock, distress, disappointment, and even disgust in their faces.

As Sirius turned towards Gwen, he saw a look of disbelief on her face that clearly said, 'Sirius BLACK in _Gryffindor_?! Merlin! What's the world coming to?'

But it wasn't the astonishment on her face that hurt him. No, it was the _disappointed look_ in her eyes.

Sirius sighed sadly. Nearly everybody he knew was in Slytherin. His family and friends; especially Gwen.

Now that they were in separate Houses, he and Gwen wouldn't be able to be together as much. From what Bella had told them, Slytherins and Gryffindors weren't exactly the best of friends to say the least and he was afraid that eventually, it would drive him and Gwen apart as well.

What the hat had said didn't exactly ease his worries either. What did it mean by '_your destinies have always lain apart from each other's'_ and '_lead you your separate ways'_?

It_had_ to be mistaken. How could it not be, when Gwen was the _one person he lived for_? The one person he could _die_ for?

Sirius glanced at the Gryffindor table with slight trepidation. He didn't know anyone in Gryffindor. He had always looked forward to Hogwarts, always assuming that he would be sorted into Slytherin where he already knew nearly everybody.

Being sorted into Gryffindor had flipped everything upside down in a split second. What would his seven years at Hogwarts be like now?

As if sensing his apprehension, the Gryffindor table jumped out of it's stupor and began to clap encouragingly for him. Immediately, several at the Slytherin table began to boo in return but were quickly silenced by the other Slytherins.

Sirius sighed sadly and glanced towards the Slytherin table one last time before turning his back on his past and walking towards the applauding Gryffindor table.

His future.

Gwen worriedly watched Sirius, who sat at the edge of the table looking down at his plate of beef with a look of disbelief and unease on his face.

However, Sirius began to relax as the other first years sat around him. Gwen smiled as she saw him talking to boy he had been with on the train, then slightly frowned with confusion.

Sirius must have met the boy for the first time on the train yet he seemed to be talking to him as familiarly as though they had known each other for ages. Yet she had never even _seen_ the boy before. How strange. How could that be? She and Sirius spent nearly every waking moment together; it was impossible that Sirius would have known that boy from before.

As they were dismissed, Gwen headed towards the Gryffindor table to talk to Sirius who was still with the boy.

"Hello, you're Sirius' sister aren't you? I've heard so much about you," the boy greeted.

"You have?" asked Gwen, slightly startled.

She didn't even know _who_ he was.

"Believe me, he talks about you all the time," he said dryly.  
"By the way, I'm James Potter, Sirius' cous—" He stopped abruptly as Sirius sent him a warning look. "—new dorm mate."

"Nice to meet you, James," said Gwen, taking the hand he held out to her.  
"He talks about me all the time? But I thought you two just met today," she asked confusedly, looking over at Sirius.

"Oh, we did," said Sirius, giving James a look.

"I just meant that I get the impression he talks about you all the time, you know, because he kept talking about you on the train and during dinner," James said hastily.

"Oh, I see," said Gwen, looking between the two.

After saying goodbye to James, Gwen headed out of the Great Hall accompanied by Sirius.

"I'm sorry," Sirius apologized once they were alone.

"For what?" Gwen asked with surprise.

"For abandoning you like that. I'm sorry for being a disappointment. For disappointing you. We promised—"

"Sirius, you're _**not**_ a disappointment!" Gwen said fiercely.

"I don't care that you're in _Gryffindor_. The reason I didn't want to be in Gryffindor was because I thought that _**you**_ would be in Slytherin. And I'm not disappointed in _you_. I'm just disappointed that we can't spend as much together as we do at home. But _that_ doesn't matter; we _will_ still spend time together."

Sirius suddenly paled as he moaned, "My life is _over_. Our family was in Slytherin for _**ages**_._You_ might not care but Mother is going to go ballistic when she finds out I didn't make Slytherin. And worse, it's Gryffindor, the 'worst house a pure-blood can get into'!"

"I'm sure Mother will understand. Sure, she'll be a little disappointed at first but she'll get over it soon enough," Gwen assured him.

Just then Kendrick Travers, a sixth-year Slytherin prefect, began to yell at Gwen.

"_**Slytherin**_ first-years follow the prefects! And no associating with_Gryffindorks_!" he sneered.

"Oh shut up, Kenny boy," said Gwen rolling her eyes.

Gwen turned back to Sirius and sighed as she saw the hurt expression on his face.

"It's starting already…"

"Travers is just an arrogant prat," she said angrily.

Sirius smiled at her defense of him then escorted her to the stairs leading to the dungeons before he found James, who was waiting for him by the staircase.

"So I take it she doesn't know?" asked James.

"No, they put a memory charm on her and Regulus when they adopted me. Everyone thinks that I'm her twin brother, including Gwen herself," replied Sirius.

"How did you explain the visits?" asked James curiously.

"Mother and Dad made sure to keep Gwen occupied whenever I went to visit," explained Sirius.  
_And of course memory charms always help_, he thought darkly.

"I bet Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charles will be thrilled to know that we're in the same House," said Sirius, relieved that at least they wouldn't be disappointed by his sorting.

"Yes, Mum said that she hoped we would be in the same House then Dad said that he sympathized with whichever House it would be," said James with a laugh.

Sirius had gone to live with Gwen and her parents when his own parents had died when he was five. Before that, he and Gwen had been 'joined at the hip from birth', to quote their parents. But of course Gwen didn't remember that part; she thought that he had always lived with her, that he had always been a part of her family.

Sirius always found it amusing that people frequently assumed them to be twins at first glance, without having to be told so, since they weren't even actually blood related.

Yet despite the fact that they weren't actual twins, they were as close as if they had been, if not, even closer. Or perhaps it was _because_ they weren't actually blood related that they got along so well. Their mother would always proudly claim that they were 'angelic children' because they had never once fought with each other, but that wasn't the case since they frequently got into rows with Regulus as all siblings did.

No they weren't like twins, who were merely two different people who just happened to have the same form, but more like two parts of that one person.

* * *

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Right now the plot seems a bit AU what with Sirius 'being adopted' and all but it will eventually all unravel. Also, the sorting hat did not _force _Sirius into Gryffindor. It's not Gryffindor itself that Sirius dislikes but being apart from his friends and family. Lastly, though I am aware of the fact that Narcissa and Lucius were a lot older than Sirius, but I wanted them in the plot. Hope that cleared things up :D) 


	4. Howler

**Chapter 2: Howler**

**September 2, 1971 Thursday, 8:10 AM**

Early the next morning, Gwen went down to breakfast with Narcissa and Aquila. They opened the large wooden door and quickly skipped over to the Slytherin table where the boys were already eating their breakfast.

"Here, Gwen. You got a letter from your parents," said Rabastan, handing her a envelope with the Black crest encrusted on it.

"Thanks," Gwen replied, taking the letter from him.  
She carefully opened the envelope and grinned as she read her parents' letter which held congratulations on her making Slytherin.

Gwen looked up as she heard a explosive sound coming from the Gryffindor table and her eyes widened with surprise as she saw Sirius apprehensively holding a large red envelope. A _Howler_.

"No…she_ wouldn't,_" Gwen whispered with horror.

The next moment, Mrs. Black's magnified voice could be heard all over the Great Hall.

"She would," Gwen groaned.

"SIRIUS BLACK!!!! HOW COULD YOU!!!! GRYFFINDOR?!?! GWEN GOT INTO SLYTHERIN AND YOU HAD TO RUIN EVERYTHING FOR HER-_Gwen groaned at this statement; as if Sirius wasn't feeling guilty enough, she had to make him feel worse by rubbing it in his face_- AND OURSELVES BY GETTING INTO GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!!!THE CURSED HOUSE FULL OF DIRTY MUBDLOODS AND BLOODTRAITORS!!!! OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN IN SLYTHERIN FOR AGES, HOW COULD YOU DISGRACE OUR FAMILY LIKE THAT?!?!?! I EXPECTED BETTER FROM **YOU**!!!!

_Sirius wasn't kidding when he said that Mother would go ballistic. I guess I overestimated her capacity for understanding,_ Gwen thought angrily, before following Sirius who had run out of the hall.

She found him in a empty corridor by himself, looking suspiciously close to tears, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sirius?"

Sirius tensed as he felt her hand on his shoulder and quickly turned around then relaxed as he saw that it was Gwen.

He abruptly pulled her to him and hugged her fiercely.

"I can't believe this. _How could this happen?_ Why Gryffindor? Ever since I can remember, when I thought about Hogwarts, I would always be in _Slytherin_ with _**you**_. I never dreamt that I would be in _Gryffindor_. I never thought that I could end up all _alone_ like this…" Sirius burst out.  
"What if…we drift apart because of our House rivalries? Like Bella said…" he finished softly.

"You're not alone Sirius. Sorry to disappoint you but twins are stuck together for life," Gwen said cheerily.  
"I'll always be your best friend, no matter what. No amount of House rivalry can keep me from you," she said solemnly, dropping her cheery tone.

"And the rest of the Slytherins will just accept that you're in Gryffindor once they get over the shock. Things will go back to normal, I promise," Gwen tried to assure him.

_**I**__** was wrong; his old life was gone forever. Everything was different now. Hogwarts would mark the end of his old life and the beginning of a new life.**_

* * *

**June 16, 1972 Friday, 1:24 PM**

Their first year passed quickly and before they knew it, summer had come upon them and they were on the train back home.

"I'd better go find Sirius now. See you guys later," Gwen said to her friends as she headed out of the compartment.

Gwen looked through the compartment window and a feeling of nostalgia came over her for a moment. Lucius, Aquila, Narcissa, Rabastan, and Magus were still there but in a year's time, Sirius' place had been taken by Severus and Evan.

"Hey guys," Gwen said cheerfully as she entered the compartment in which Sirius, James and Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, two other Gryffindor boys of their year that they had befriended, were sitting.

"Gwen, finally! I thought you'd forgotten about me," Sirius said with mock distress, giving her a bear hug.

"Aww, I missed you too, Siri," said Gwen, hugging him back.

---

"There's Mother and Regulus," said Gwen as she spotted them waiting at the train station.

"And Dad too," she added with surprise.

"Hi Dad, don't you have work today?" greeted Gwen.

"Yes, but of course I have to see my twins back from their first year," said Orion, pulling them both into a hug.

"Mother," greeted Gwen as her mother hugged her.

"Sirius," Walburga said coldly as she turned to Sirius.

"Walburga!" Orion said sharply.

"Regulus!" Gwen and Sirius turned to him and tackled him at the same time.

"Hi guys!" Regulus laughed.

"It was so _boring_ without you two. I can't wait to go to Hogwarts with you this year," said Regulus excitedly.

"I hope you get into Gryffindor so we can be in the same House," Sirius said earnestly.

"He will not," Walburga interrupted coldly.

"One blood traitor in the family is more than enough," she said nastily.

"Walburga, not another word," said Orion warningly.

"Mother, how could you? As if that Howler wasn't enough!" said Gwen reproachfully, as both Sirius and Regulus looked crestfallen.

"Howler? What Howler?" Orion asked, his voice dangerously soft.

"It's nothing, Dad," Gwen said quickly.

"What Howler, Walburga? Did you send Sirius a Howler?" Orion pressed.

"Yes," Walburga finally murmured.

To the children's relief, Orion merely sent Walburga one last quelling glare before heading out of the train station.

---

Gwen woke up with a start and sighed with relief as she saw her surroundings.

_It was just a dream. Just a bad dream, _she told herself as she lay back in her bed.

The scene from her dream kept repeating in her head and Gwen sat back up, unable to fall asleep. Getting out of bed, she quietly creaked opened her door and began to tiptoe down to the staircase. Pausing at Sirius' door, she slowly opened the door and peeked in.

Sirius was sleeping soundly, with a slight smile on his face and Gwen watched him for a moment, comforted by the smile.

After a minute, she continued on to the staircase and quietly headed down to the kitchen. As she passed her parents' room, their muffled voices could be heard in the silence and Gwen stopped as their voices steadily rose higher.

"Lucky I was there today. I hate to think how nasty you would have been to Sirius if I _hadn't_ been," Orion was saying furiously.

"How can you take this so calmly? What if he turns out like those disgraceful Potters? We shouldn't have let them stay in contact with him!" said Walburga.

"They're his aunt and uncle. We can't keep the child away from the only family he has left in the region."

"Only family? _Only family_?" said Walburga furiously. "Sirius has us!"

"Besides, the Potters aren't—"

"Not another word, Walburga," said Orion.

"We should have brought Sirius sooner. He was almost six when he came to live with us; he had too much influence already as a child! Gryffindor indeed," her mother declared angrily.

Gwen gasped in surprise. What did Mother mean by 'brought'? Surely it didn't mean that Sirius was _adopted_?

He was her twin… Did that mean that she was adopted too? She almost_hoped_ she was.  
_Anything but __**that**_…she pled silently.

"Don't you realize what sort of affect he could have on our children? Gwen absolutely adores him and Regulus practically idolizes him!" Walburga nearly shouted.

"Keep your voice down!" Orion commanded.

"What's done is done. There's nothing that can be done by moaning about it. And you're right; Gwen and Regulus do adore him. That's why we must be cautious on the matter. We cannot risk having them nor anyone else hear this conversation. We did not put a memory charm on the children for nothing."

Gwen rushed back to her room as quietly as she could, then collapsed unto her bed.

So_that_ was why she had no memory of Sirius being adopted…  
And…and Sirius wasn't her twin. Her 'beloved twin' was of no relation to her…

They weren't twins after all; they were not siblings or even _half_ brother and sister.

_Anything but that_, she had pled. Because it meant that they were _**nothing**_ to each other.

Gwen burst into a sob as the realization hit home, and burrowed her face against her pillow to muffle her cries. When she had finally managed to control her tears, Gwen crept to Sirius' room so as to not wake him up, then quietly slipped into his bed beside him as she usually did whenever she needed comfort.

"Gwen? What's wrong, Starr?" Sirius asked sleepily.

'Starr' was Gwen's middle name which only Sirius was allowed to call her by. Both Sirius and Regulus were named after constellations and she felt that her mother had gone a little too far in the 'name your child after a star' thing in naming Gwen. Apparently, her father had thought so too since he had put his foot down when her mother had wanted to name Gwen 'Starr' instead and she had had to settle for having it as Gwen's middle name.

"Nothing. I just had a nightmare. The worst I ever had…" said Gwen with a slight shudder.

"It'll be alright. I'm here," Sirius comforted her as he put his arm around her protectively and gently kissed her forehead.

Yes, it _would_ be alright. She would make sure it was. Sirius must never have to bear the shock and pain she had gone through tonight. Sirius must never discover the truth, even if it killed her to hide it, Gwen resolved.

She realized that it didn't _matter_ that they weren't really twins. All that mattered was that they loved one another as much as twins did.

That night, Gwen had felt shock, hurt, sorrow, yet also _**relief**_. She didn't understand that particular emotion until much later when she realized that the love she felt for Sirius was more than just the love for a brother.

Much more.

* * *

**Second Year**

**September 9, 1972 Saturday, 9:43 AM**

Gwen sighed nervously as she waited for her turn to try out.

It had been a week since school started and try outs for the Slytherin quidditch team was being held today.

Gwen was trying out for the Seeker position and normally, she wouldn't have been worried since she had played Seeker for years.

But the Slytherin quidditch captain was Kendrick Travers and he had been holding a grudge against her ever since Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor last year.

"Black," announced Travers and smiled coldly at her.

Without warning, he suddenly threw the ball and Gwen immediately went into a dive and managed to catch the ball two feet before it reached the ground. Travers growled and threw the next ball, which she also managed to catch. He threw ball after ball in every direction, his face growing angrier with every ball she caught.

"Next. Malfoy," he finally finished.

Gwen sighed in relief and flew towards her cousin, Bellatrix, who was with her friend Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Relax, you were the best out there today," said Bella as she smiled at her with pride.

"Thanks, but Travers has been holding a grudge against me since the beginning of last year," Gwen said gloomily then proceeded to explain the incident with Travers and Sirius.

"Don't worry about it. We'll confront him if he tries anything," Rodolphus assured her.

"Thanks," she beamed.

"Anything for my favorite little cousin," replied Bella, tousling her hair.

A week later, Bellatrix and Rodolphus watched as Travers began to organize the final list for the quidditch team.

"Why did you eliminate Gwen? She's clearly the best Seeker we got. And you've seen her fly in the past. You've admitted yourself that she's the best Seeker amongst us," Bellatrix said angrily.

"You always used to pick her to be on your team whenever we played quidditch. You're not eliminating her just because of some stupid grudge, Travers," added Rodolphus.

"And if I do?" Travers inquired smugly.

"Then I'm dropping out," said Bellatrix and Rodolphus at the same time. They turned to each other and smiled then turned back unto Travers and continued to glare at him.

Travers glared angrily at them then gave in. They were the best players on the team and how would he fill _two_ Beater positions before their upcoming match with Gryffindor?

He_**had**_ to beat Dominic this year. This was his last year and he would not be beaten by that bloodtraitor again. And he had to admit, that Black girl considerably improved his chance of winning the quidditch cup this year.

"Fine. She's in," he growled.

Bellatrix smirked and said smugly, "I knew you would see it our way, Travers."

* * *

**September 18, 1972 Monday, 2:45 PM**

Sirius and James were waiting for Gwen, who had gone to her common room to see the new quidditch team list, under the willow tree along with Remus and Peter.

Sirius had also tried out for the quidditch team, along with James, for the position of Beater. However, their new quidditch captain Marlene Dominic had privately told them that they had made the team, right after try outs, so they weren't worried.

Sirius quickly stood up as he saw Gwen head out and waited apprehensively.

"Sirius! Sirius! I'm on the team," Gwen yelled out happily as she ran towards him. Once she had reached the tree, she jumped into his arms and he spun her around, laughing.

Travers who had been walking past made a disgusted faced and smirked nastily, "Why are you two so happy? You have to play against _each other_."

His words had the desired effect and they immediately stopped laughing.

"I forgot about that," said Gwen solemnly.

"It's going to be the first time we go against each other," Sirius said wistfully.

Whenever they had played with teams, Sirius and Gwen had always been together.

Always.

* * *

**January 14, 1973 Sunday, 10: 20 PM**

Sirius snickered as he and Gwen flew towards the window of their Potions Professor's class on the 3rd level.

Slughorn, with his jolly and obnoxious nature, was one of the Marauder's favorite targets for their pranks.

Remus, who had gone to Slughorn on the pretense of needing extra help due to his 'illness', hid a grin as he spotted Sirius and Gwen.

Gwen fluttered a white plastic shower curtain by the window, which was Remus' cue to point towards the window and curiously say, "Look at the window Professor! What _is_ that?"

Being the nosy person he was, Slughorn hurried towards the window to get a closer look and Remus took the chance to hide his wand.

Gwen carefully raised the curtain so that the end was at shoulder level and Slughorn promptly took the bait and pulled the end of the curtain into the room.

Immediately, Sirius poured a bucket of ice-cold water unto the curtain and Slughorn emitted a roar of surprise as he was instantly drenched.

Slughorn stuck his head out to look for the culprits but only succeeded in nearly falling out the window, and probably would have had Remus not pulled him in.

Remus who had been trying to look innocent and bewildered the entire time nearly burst out laughing when Slughorn turned around.

"_The look on his face!" Remus laughed, once the Marauders were back in the safety of their dormitory. _

Slughorn began to look for his wand and turned to Remus. "Have you seen my wand?"

"No, sir," Remus said innocently, speaking in a respectful tone, whilst he kicked the wand further away from view.

Slughorn sighed. "I must have left it in my chamber," he muttered "Do you know how to do a drying spell then?"

"I left my wand in my dormitory, sir," said Remus.

"You must keep your wand with you at all times," Slughorn said impatiently.

"But sir, you left your wand too," Remus replied slyly.

"I suppose I'll have to return to my chamber," Slughorn said hastily.

Once Slughorn has gone back inside, Sirius took out the two-way mirror which Uncle Charles had given him and James for Christmas.

"James, are you ready yet? He just left," he said into the mirror, as Slughorn ushered Remus out of the classroom and headed to his sleeping quarters to retrieve his wand. Before Remus was out of the room, Gwen carefully 'accioed' Slughorn's wand and placed it under his desk.

"Yes, we're ready," James said.  
"He's here; he's _shivering_," he snickered several minutes later.

Sirius who had flown over to Slughorn's window carefully peeked in. Slughorn was practically ripping his room apart, trying to find his wand. Finally, he resignedly headed to the bathroom.

"He's heading to the showers; I hope he doesn't take a long time," Sirius said with a bored sigh.

"He's out," Sirius finally said and grinned evilly, "All fresh and clean and _**dry**_."

James who had filled a large pail, the size of a garbage can, with water carried the pail to Slughorn's door with Peter and Remus' help.

James leaned the pail against the door then knocked loudly and rushed around the corridor where Peter and Remus were hiding under the cloak.

As Slughorn opened the door, the pail fell in, flooding the room and drenching him with water once again.

The Marauders howled with laugher as he let loose a pitiful roar of helpless aggravation.

Sirius and Gwen who were peeking in through the window nearly died laughing as they saw the look on his face when he turned around.

"He looked ready to _cry_," Sirius later said to the other three Marauders.

"The poor dear," laughed Gwen.

* * *

**May 26, 1973 Saturday, 7:40 AM**

It was the last match of the year; Slytherin against Gryffindor.

The two Houses were close in running for the Quidditch cup which meant that this match would determine the winner of the Cup.

The Slytherin quidditch team was gathered at their table eating breakfast when Sirius quickly approached them, with the majority of the Gryffindor table watching him.

"Go Gryffindor!" Sirius yelled then proceeded to use his wand like a Muggle water gun to squirt water at the Slytherins.

Needless to say, the Slytherins weren't amused but chose not to bother with him.

"Go Gryffindor!"

"Go Gryffindor!"

"Go Gryffindor!" Sirius repeated several times, as he continued to squirt water, and the Slytherins grew increasingly annoyed.

"Sirius!" Gwen finally shrieked and began to chase him out of the hall, with her own wand drenching him with water.

"Those two…" Bella chuckled, shaking her head.

After breakfast, they headed to their locker rooms then headed out unto the quidditch field.

"Here comes the Slytherin team; Travers, Lestrange, Black, Nott, Wilkes, and the newest additions to the team Malfoy and Black," announced Dorcas Meadows, a Ravenclaw second year who was doing the commentary.

"And the Gryffindor team; Prewett, Yaxley, their new additions Black and Potter, Prewett, Dominic, and Vance."

"Gryffindor in possession, Dominic heads for the goal and –she scores!"

The hour passed in a blur with Gryffindor scoring a record of fourteen goals making the score a hundred forty to ten.

Marlene had always been Gryffindor's star Chaser but combined with James' natural talent and they were practically unbeatable.

"Gryffindor in possession again with Potter; (Bella aimed a Bludger at James, making him drop the Quaffle) Slytherin in possession, Malfoy aims–and once again Prewett saves the goal!"

Gryffindor scored two more times making them lead by a hundred sixty to ten and Gwen had yet to catch more than brief glimpses of the Snitch.

If she were to catch the Snitch now, Slytherin would end up tying with Gryffindor.

Travers would blow his top if they tied with Gryffindor.

"I_**have**_ to beat Dominic," he had said numerous times with that maniacal gleam in his eye.

_Really_, Gwen thought dryly, _it was like some sort of obsession with him._

Gwen watched anxiously as Theodore Nott, Slytherin's star Chaser, made his way to the goal. If he didn't make it, nobody would. Slytherin was doomed to lose the match if he didn't make a goal soon.

"And he scores!" Dorcas announced to loud applause from the Slytherins.

_Now would be the perfect time to catch the Snitch,_ Gwen was thinking anxiously, when she saw a golden glimmer by the stands about a foot off the ground.

Gwen casually flew over to the stands then immediately, without warning, went into a dive. Emmeline Vance, the Gryffindor Seeker, followed suit and dived for the snitch as well.

Emmeline began to close in and Gwen silently urged her nimbus 1500 to go faster until finally-her hands closed around the small golden Snitch and she quickly pulled out of the dive.

However, while she had been going into her dive, James and Marlene had each made a goal, making Gryffindor lead by a hundred eighty to a hundred seventy.

"Incredible! Slytherin catches the Snitch but Gryffindor wins the match. The quidditch cup goes to Gryffindor!" Meadows announced.

_Beaten by Dominic again, _Travers thought furiously.  
"I_**will**_ get my revenge some day," he murmured threateningly to Marlene.

_When we meet again, Dominic, I won't be beaten._

* * *


	5. No Age Limit in Love

**Chapter 3: No Age Limit in Love**

**Third Year**

**October 23, 1973 Tuesday, 8:53 PM**

"He always says that he went to see his mother," said Sirius suspiciously.

"You know what I think?" asked Gwen confidingly then continued, "I think he's a werewolf."

Her statement was met with stunned silence then Sirius laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous. Just because he's acting suspicious doesn't mean that he's a _werewolf_."  
"So he disappears once in a while, so what?"

"Once a month, in fact," countered Gwen.  
"His boggart turned into a silvery orb; a _full moon_. That's when I first became suspicious."  
"I checked the lunar chart yesterday," she said softly, "and he always leaves around full moon."

Gwen was met with stunned silence once again but there was now comprehension in his eyes.

"So what do we do?" asked Sirius with slight horror in his voice, "Merlin, a _werewolf_."

"Do?" she thought for a moment then said reasonably, "Well…he's still_Remus_. We just discovered another, uh, part of him but it's always been a part of him so it doesn't exactly change _him_. He's still the same person. He's still our friend Remus."

"Of course," Sirius agreed, "I was just surprised. It's not everyday you discover that your friend is a werewolf, after all."

---

About an hour later, Sirius and Gwen joined the boys, James, Remus, and Peter, in the Gryffindor third year boys' dormitory.

The first time Gwen had gone into the Gryffindor common room she had caused quite a sensation, being a Slytherin in Gryffindor territory.  
However, by now everyone was too accustomed to seeing her in their Common Room to even cast another glance at them as she entered.

"Stop lying, Remus, where do you really go?" said Sirius bluntly as soon as they had settled down.

_So much being subtle_, Gwen thought exasperatedly.

"What he means," Gwen said hastily as she sent Sirius a warning look, "is that it's safe to trust us with your secret."

"It's pretty obvious that you're not going to see your mother," said James, at Remus' startled look.

"Yeah, even I knew there was something suspicious about that," said Peter, making the others laughed.

"It's okay, Remus. Sirius and I already know," said Gwen comfortingly as Remus began to panic.

"You guys figured it out?"

"Not we. Gwen here figured it out," Sirius looked at Gwen with pride at her intellect, "and of course we tell each other everything, so yes, she told me."

"Oh. I suppose I should tell the other two."  
"Well…it's-I'm—" He hesitated. "—a werewolf."

Sirius and Gwen nodded, unsurprised, while James looked at Remus with shock evident in his face and Peter fainted.

"So what are you going to do?" Remus asked fearfully as he eyed Peter.

Gwen smiled warmly at him. "We, that is, Sirius and I, decided we don't care."

"Me neither. It doesn't change anything," James quickly put in.

"Really?" asked Remus, getting slightly teary-eyed.

"What'd you think we'd do, abandon you?" Sirius said hastily, slightly embarrassed by his show of emotion.

"Well, yes," Remus admitted.

"I don't blame you," said Sirius distastefully, eyeing Peter.

"I reckon we should wake him up," Remus said heavily.

"Enervate."

Peter sat up, slightly dazed, then squeaked with fright as he spotted Remus and fell backwards.

"Don't be dense," said Sirius impatiently and smacked him across the head. "He's still Remus."

"What difference does it make that he's a werewolf? He's always been a kind person anyway; he's not going to suddenly start attacking you now, is he?" Gwen explained patiently.

"Anyway, Dumbledore wouldn't have accepted Remus into Hogwarts if he was dangerous," James pointed out.

"Oh, right," said Peter, looking slightly ashamed.  
"Sorry," he added.

"It's alright. You actually took it a lot better than I expected," said Remus, relieved.

"So are we going to sit here feeling sorry for Remus," Sirius asked impatiently, "or are we actually going to do something to help him?"

"What can we do though?" James mused.

"You don't have to do anything," Remus protested. "Besides, you know werewolves are dangerous to humans."

"To_humans_…" Sirius and Gwen exclaimed at the same time.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sirius asked Gwen with a wide grin.

"Yes," Gwen replied, "we should become—"

"Animagi," Sirius finished.

"You guys are brilliant!" James said excitedly while Peter asked, "What are Animagi?"

"I know," Sirius said cockily.

"Note to self, never compliment Sirius again," said James, pretending to make a mental note.

Gwen rolled her eyes at Sirius then explained, "Animagi are witches and wizards who can turn into animals at will."

"You really don't have to do that for me," Remus protested with embarrassment.

"Nonsense, what are friends for?" Gwen answered for them all.

* * *

**Summer Fourth Year**

**August 22, 1974 Thursday, 8:45 AM**

"Gwen! The team's playing at Michael's today and he said you can come along and play with us since Emmeline can't make it and we're missing a player," Sirius said excitedly.

Michael Yaxley, the Gryffindor quidditch team's Captain, was a fervent trainer who practiced incessantly, even over the summer. Since the Gryffindor team players were all good friends, they liked to play together over the summer.

"Sure," Gwen agreed happily and several minutes later, they were flooing to Michael's house with broomsticks in hand.

"Hey Sirius. Hey Gwen, glad you could make it," Michael greeted them and led them to the field where the rest of the team were waiting.

"Oi, Sirius! How could you? Bringing a spy among our midst!" Gideon Prewett exclaimed with mock anger.

"You're not going to rat us out to rest of the Slytherins, are you Gwen?" James said, feigning anxiety.

"You know me, loyalty to House before friends," Gwen grinned.

All five boys on the team (Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Michael, Sirius, and James) gasped dramatically.

"How could you? So you were lying when you said that you loved me?" Sirius asked, feigning hurt.

"That's enough boys, leave poor Gwen alone," Alice Cullen reprimanded with a laugh.

"Yeah, leave the innocent little Slytherin alone," Gwen put in.

Sirius snorted. "Innocent and Slytherin don't belong in the same sentence," he smirked while Gwen mocked a scowl at him.

---

They played for the next few hours with Gideon as Keeper, Sirius and Michael as Beaters on opposite teams, and Alice and James as Chasers on Michael's team while Gwen and Fabian were Chasers on Sirius' team. Any Chaser who caught the snitch earned thirty points for their team.

The score was a hundred twenty to a hundred forty when Michael's mother came out to the field.

"Michael, Melissa's here!" his mother called.

"Melissa? Which House is she from?" asked Alice.

"Well, she doesn't go to Hogwarts," said Michael.

"We should have known there was a reason you never went out on dates," said Fabian with a knowing smirk.

"So which school does she attend?" asked Gideon.

"Is she a French girl from Beauxbatons?" said Sirius slyly, "I've heard those French girls are stunners."  
"Ow! I just said that that's what I _heard_," he protested as Gwen smacked his arm.

"Eh, actually…she's a Muggle," Michael said and grinned. "So it_might_ be a good idea for us to put our broomsticks away."

"You think?" Alice said sarcastically, as they rushed to hide their broomsticks and quidditch equipment then changed out of their robes.

"So what are we going to do now?" said Sirius.

"Why don't we play football since I've told her that I'm on the football team," said Michael, conjuring up a ball.

No one needed to ask what football was since Michael was as much of a football fanatic as he was a quidditch one.

They quickly assumed the roles resembling their quidditch roles with Gideon, who was Keeper, as goalie and Sirius and Michael, who were Beaters, as the defense.

A shot was made but Gideon, as usual, was able to block it.

"Gideon is definitely a superb Keeper, uh, goalie," Gwen commented admiringly to Melissa who had come out into the field and was standing by the side watching the practice.

"Gideon? Is he the red-head? He does seem very talented," Melissa agreed.

"So how did you and Michael meet?" Gwen asked curiously.  
After all, it was rare that a pure-blood wizard still in school had a Muggle girlfriend.

"I suppose you can say that football brought us together." Melissa smiled. "I was working in my uncle's sports equipment store and Michael just happened to looking for some football equipment at the time."  
"We got to talking and well," she shrugged, "we've been seeing each other for about a year now."

"That's nice," Gwen smiled at her and the two continued to talk for a while before Gwen ran into the field and began chasing after the ball.

_There's nothing like football with the Gryffindors,_ Gwen thought amusedly as she watched Sirius run a victory lap around the field after scoring a goal.

* * *

**Fourth Year**

**December 28, 1974 Saturday, 8:03 AM**

It was Christmas break and Sirius and Gwen had come home for the holidays instead of staying at Hogwarts.

It was about eight o'clock in the morning and Gwen was in her room with Adrianne Belby, her friend from her Ancient Runes class, who had come over for the day.  
Adrianne was also a fourth-year student but was in Ravenclaw, so they rarely saw each other except in class.

"Gwen—" Sirius started to say as he burst in through the deluxe bathroom connecting their two rooms and stopped as he saw Adrianne.

Both Sirius and Adrianne turned red as they became aware of the fact that Sirius had come in wearing only his boxers.

Sirius immediately walked out backwards and closed the door shut after him.

"You're drooling," Gwen said dryly, to Adrianne, barely managing to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"Oh, right. Sorry, you don't like it when girls stare at your brother," Adrianne reminded herself.

_To say that 'she didn't like it' was taking it lightly, _Gwen thought grimly.  
She tended to get a bit too jealous at times; she had to constantly remind herself that Sirius was supposed to be her brother in order to maintain control and keep calm.

And it didn't help that Sirius always treated her completely different from other girls.  
Like today; he always walked around in only his boxers around _**her**_ but the instant he had seen Adrianne, he had gone to dress properly.

Not that she disliked seeing him in his boxers; after all he _did_ have a nice body. But Sirius couldn't have made it more _**clear**_ that he didn't even think of Gwen as a girl.

It was times like these that Gwen almost regretted the day Sirius had been adopted. Almost.  
Recently, Gwen had realized or rather, acknowledged that her love for Sirius was not as sisterly as she had believed. After all, was it natural for a sister to feel such jealousy when her supposed brother so much as _smiled_ at another girl?

_Yes_, she had tried to tell herself. _She was just afraid of losing her own time with Sirius.  
**Sirius spent loads of time with James and she didn't mind…**_

_This was different, _she protested._ Friends were different from girlfriends.  
**But she didn't feel that way when Regulus was around girls…**_

_Her relationship with Sirius was different from hers with Sirius. She and Sirius were like twins.  
**Aquila didn't mind when Lucius associated with other girls. In fact, she had been delighted when he had dated his first girlfriend. **_

_**And how did she explain her increasingly growing awareness of him? The way she wanted to hold his hand, to feel his lips on hers, wanted to feel his warmth…**  
It was just lust, _Gwen had tried to reason._ Just teenage hormones acting up. _

So Gwen had dated and spent time with other guys.  
Everything else, Gwen could reason with or explain away, but how could she reason with the fact that it was always Sirius she was imagining?

That it was Sirius who was holding her hand.  
Sirius who was waiting for her outside her classrooms.  
Sirius who kissed her goodnight by the entrance to her Common Room or by the girl's dormitories before curfew.

Then she knew.

She loved Sirius.

_How was it possible?__She was much too young to be in love; she wasn't even fifteen yet!_ she had reasoned, still in denial.

But even if she had been loath to accept it, Gwen knew. There was no age limit to love. No age was too young to love.

Gwen herself had loved Sirius since she was barely five years old.

**[Flashback**

Gwen had been playing outside with Narcissa and Aquila in the backyard at Grimmauld Place when Gwen's stuffed teddy bear, one of which both she and Narcissa had received as gifts from their grandmother, suddenly began to lift into the air as it was enchanted by an unseen person, and Gwen cried out in alarm.

It rose about fifty feet and one of the boys who had been playing quidditch slammed it with his Bludger bat, thinking it was a Bludger.

The tiny trio watched with horror as the teddy bear landed outside, in the Muggle part, outside of Grimmauld Place.  
They were forbidden to go past the boundary, and Gwen would never get her teddy bear back now.

"Teddy!" Gwen began to wail and Narcissa and Aquila comforted her.

"Here Gwen, you can have mine," Narcissa offered Gwen her own toy, a stuffed bunny.

Gwen blinked in surprise.  
These gifts were not ordinary stuffed dolls like the Muggle ones since their grandmother would never bestow Muggle objects upon them. The dolls, of course, were enchanted and were extremely rare and expensive so Narcissa's gift was no small sacrifice.

"It's okay Cissy," Gwen replied, handing the bunny back to her.

Sirius who had been flying with Lucius, Rabastan, and Magus on their mini broomsticks flew towards Gwen.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Gwen's teddy landed outside," Aquila explained and lowered her voice forebodingly, "in the _Muggle_ side."

Sirius and the three other boys who had flown over looked horrified as well.

"Th-the Muggle side?" Magus asked fearfully.

"Yes," Gwen sniffed. "Poor Teddy, he's gonna be scared, all alone with the Muggles."

"I'll go and get him," Sirius said determinedly and all seven children gasped.

"It's okay Siri, you don't have to go," Gwen quickly said.

"Don't go! The big, bad Muggle is gonna get you," Narcissa said fearfully as the others nodded fervently.

Sirius gulped. "I'll be careful," he promised.

"I'll go with you!" Gwen quickly said.

"No!" Sirius and Narcissa said at the same time.

"I'll go by myself," Sirius said firmly.

"Are you sure?" Lucius said then added with a hint of fear, "_I'll_ go with you if you want."

"It's okay, Luci, I'll go by myself," Sirius said valiantly, with a nod towards his best friend.

"Good luck," Rabastan called after him as he disappeared through the door.

Both Lucius and Gwen watched anxiously, hoping that they hadn't just sent their best friend to his death.

_Sirius trembled as he walked out into the Muggle world for the first time in his life. _

_Ever since he could remember, he had heard numerous terrifying tales about the __**big**__** bad**__ Muggles.  
According to these tales, Muggles were an extremely evil race that was rumoured to have been spawned by the devil. _

_So evil in fact that they had had to be punished by being stripped of their magic, which was the worst punishment imaginable; even worse than a lifetime in Azkaban.  
The Muggles favourite pastime was Wizard hunting, especially little wizard boys such as himself, which was why they had to live in hiding from Muggles and never enter the Muggle world. _

_Sirius cautiously walked in the shadows, careful to stay out of view from the Muggles. _

_Sirius scanned the area for the teddy bear and gave a shudder as he finally spotted the stuffed toy by the bench. A Muggle woman sat on that bench and she held Teddy in her hands. _

_Sirius began to turn back. He wasn't being a coward; no one would blame him when they found out that Teddy was being held captive by a Muggle woman. It was just too dangerous. _

_But then he remembered Gwen's tear stained face and her sad violet eyes and stopped. _

_He would do it for Gwen. _

_Sirius quickly approached the Muggle woman, imagining Gwen's delighted face when he came back with Teddy.  
He stood defiantly in front of the Muggle woman, refusing to show the fear in his face. _

"_Is this yours?" the woman asked, slightly amused and bewildered by the look of fear and defiance on his little face, and indicated towards Teddy._

"_Ye-Ye," Sirius started to stammer then said clearly, "Yes."_

_The woman handed Sirius the toy and he quickly ran back into the shadows after thanking her, looking back to make sure she hadn't followed him. _

"Siri! You did it!" Gwen shrieked with delight as she saw Sirius running towards them with Teddy in his arms.

The group cheered as Sirius handed Gwen the stuffed doll.

"Thanks, Siri," Gwen said as she looked at him with pure adoration shining from her face.

"You're welcome, Gwen," Sirius replied, looking at her with equal adoration.  
_Yes, it was definitely worth the danger to see her happy. _

From that moment, the two had been inseparable or rather, more so than before.

**[End of flashback**

Gwen had known, when she had realized her love for Sirius, that it would be hard.  
She knew it was foolish of her to feel this way, that she _shouldn't_ be feeling this way.

She had known that she would never have him, could never be with him, and that it would be painful.  
Gwen_knew_ it was foolish of her but she had continued to love him anyway.

At times, she longed for him with an almost desperate need but because it was Sirius who she couldn't, _no mustn't, _love, she couldn't get any closer.  
Sirius himself would never know that he was forever denying her.

Sometimes Gwen wanted to show him, to tell him, how she felt.  
But she couldn't bring herself to add to his burden. Sirius had enough worries because of Mother and the Slytherins without _her_ adding to it.  
Sirius needed her to be his supportive sister and best friend and she couldn't shatter that for him.

She would manage, as long as she could occasionally be there for him, occasionally do something for him.  
As long as she could be by his side, even if it was as his sister, she would be alright.

Really.

* * *


	6. Not the Way I Do

**Chapter 4: Not the Way I Do**

**January 1, 1975 Wednesday, 10: 37 PM**

"Happy birthday Sirius, Gwen," said Orion.

He handed each of them a small box-shaped package.

"Oh, Dad!" said Gwen with awe as she opened the box.  
The box contained a magnificent ring with the Black crest encrusted on it. It was a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations.

Orion smiled. "I think it is now time to pass these on to the two of you."

Sirius looked at his own ring which was a more masculine version of Gwen's.  
"Dad, you shouldn't have," he said faintly, "Thank you."

"Now you know these rings are our family heirloom, but they are also much more," said Orion.  
"When the both of you wear these rings, they will serve as a connection between you."

"Connection?"

"Yes, if either of you feel a particularly strong emotion, the other will be able to feel it as well, though more indistinctly. And more importantly, the ring will serve as a signal to the other if either of you are in danger," explained Orion.

"What if we misunderstand or miss the signal?" asked Sirius.

"I doubt that that is possible." Orion laughed. "You could hardly miss the ring turning white-hot, can you? Though of course you wouldn't be burnt but only feel the sensation."

"Thank you, Dad," said Gwen, giving him a hug.

"Come on, Sirius. Let's go to our room," she said.

"You go on ahead. I have to ask Dad something," said Sirius.

"Oh, okay." Gwen shrugged and headed up the stairs.

Sirius watched her leave before turning to his father.  
"Dad, is it really alright to give this to _me_?" he said slowly.  
"It's a family heirloom, it rightfully belongs to Regulus. Mother would be furious if she found out that you gave it to…_**me**_," said Sirius.

Orion frowned at the reference to their mother.  
"Don't mind your mother, Sirius. And you _**are**_ the Black heir, Sirius. This ring rightfully belongs to you," he said firmly.

Sirius nodded. "Thank you, Dad."  
"And I'm sorry," he added, "for all the trouble I've caused you."

Orion watched him go upstairs, with a pained expression.

_No, I'm sorry, my son for all the trouble __**I've**__ caused __**you**__. You would not understand now, but someday, someday you will understand…_

* * *

**February 13, 1975 Thursday, 10:18 AM**

Several weeks passed until it was almost Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day; Gwen's least favorite holiday.

_I hate Valentine's Day_, Gwen thought with annoyance and jealousy.  
She couldn't begin to count the number of girls who had shyly asked _her_ to deliver their valentine to Sirius for them.

"Please Gwen, just this once," begged Adrianne.

"Fine," Gwen finally snapped, admitting defeat.  
"But only because you're my best friend," she added sulkily.

"Thanks! You're the best, Gwen!" Adrianne squealed as she handed Gwen a large pink valentine and small wrapped package.

"You're welcome," Gwen grumbled before heading to find Sirius.

"Sirius!" she called as she spotted him by the lake.

Sirius turned and grinned widely as he saw her then his face darkened as he saw the package in her hand.

"Sirius, this is from my friend Adrianne," Gwen said timidly as she held the package out to him.

"You too?" Sirius said coldly as he grabbed the package and flung it into the lake.  
"Why are you doing this to me?" he said angrily before storming off.

_He couldn't explain why he felt this way. He usually enjoyed or at least didn't mind receiving valentines; it boosted his ego.  
Stranger still was that it was the fact that __**Gwen**__ had been the one to deliver the valentine that bothered him the most._

_It didn't make sense…_

_--- _

"Sirius, please open the door! I'm sorry," Gwen yelled as she banged on his dormitory door. She had been begging for nearly an hour with no response from Sirius.  
"I'm really, _**really**_ sorry," she began to cry as she sank to the floor.

The door immediately flew open and Sirius swiftly picked her up from the floor and hugged her tightly to him.  
"I'm so sorry, Gwen. Please don't cry," he pled with her.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I didn't mean to upset you," Gwen sobbed.

Sirius bent his head and gently kissed away a tear. "No, Gwen. I'm sorry."  
"I made tears fall from the world's most beautiful eyes," he said tenderly.

* * *

**February 14, 1975 Friday, 7:40 PM**

"Here, I got this for you," Remus said shyly as he handed a heart shaped box of chocolates to Gwen.

Gwen beamed at him while Sirius, who was nearby playing wizard chess with James, scowled.

"Thanks, Remus," said Gwen as she kissed him on the cheek.

Remus blushed while Sirius, if possible, scowled harder than ever.  
"Can you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" he asked quickly.  
This weekend was the Hogsmeade weekend for Valentine's Day.

"Of course I will," Gwen replied warmly.

"Hey, don't take it out on the chess men," James laughed, as Sirius barked orders so harshly at his pawn that it nearly ran off the board in fright.

* * *

**February 15, 1975 Saturday, 8:30 AM**

It was the Hogsmeade weekend and Gwen and Adrianne, who was Sirius' date, met Remus and Sirius by the staircase before heading towards Hogsmeade.

"Adrianne, this is Remus Lupin. Remus," said Gwen, then indicated towards Adrianne, "Adrianne Belby."

They smiled shyly at each other as they shook hands.

Once they had reached Hogsmeade, they went to Zonko's and Honeydukes where they bought their fill of sweets and jokes.  
Sirius scowled as Remus bought Gwen a large chocolate rose but proceeded to buy one for Adrianne as well.

After leaving Honeydukes, they headed to Madame Puddifoot's where all the couples were going for Valentine's Day.  
Sirius engaged in a conversation about quidditch with Adrianne, who was on the Ravenclaw quidditch team, but scowled occasionally whenever Remus showed the slightest indication of flirting with Gwen.

Sirius and Gwen got up to get more drinks and Adrianne turned to Remus.  
"They're so protective of each other," she said with a laugh.

Remus joined in laughing."This is nothing," he said.  
"You would think they were an engaged couple the way they act sometimes," he said slightly exasperatedly, "They always get so upset when the other dates anyone and last week, Gwen gave Sirius a valentine from somebody else and he locked himself in our dormitory, sulking, for an hour. He wouldn't have made _half_ the fuss if it had been anybody else who delivered it to him."

"Really? Gwen didn't tell me about that," said Adrianne guiltily.

Sirius and Gwen arrived with the drinks and the four paired up as they had done before only this time, Remus with Adrianne and Sirius with Gwen.

After they had left Madame Puddifoot's the group headed towards the carriages going to Hogwarts.

"Bye Gwen, Sirius," said Adrianne when they reached Hogwarts and smiled, "bye Remus."  
_He seems really nice. How come I never noticed him before? _Adrianne reflected with a slight smile.

"Bye Adrianne," Remus smiled back.  
It had been fun talking to her. She was very easy-going so that it had been easy for him to overcome his shyness and relax around her.

---

"I don't like you liking my sister," Sirius confronted Remus coldly, once they were back in their dormitory.

James, who had returned from his own date earlier, looked up sharply and glanced quizzically between the two boys.

"Why not?" Gwen demanded.  
"I thought you didn't like my going out with those other guys because you don't like them. What's wrong with me going out with Remus? He's one of your best friends!"

"He's still not worthy of you!" Sirius blurted out.

"I know you don't mean that," Gwen said softly.

"I don't mean because you're a werewolf," Sirius explained hurriedly as he saw the hurt look come over Remus' face.

"What I mean is that—" He hesitated then continued with an almost desperate air. "–he doesn't love you enough. Not as much as I do."  
"Not the way I do…" Sirius said so softly that no one save James, who was next to him, heard.

And though even Sirius himself did not understand what he meant, James did.

* * *

**February 18, 1975 Tuesday, 11:35 PM**

Gwen was in her dormitory with Aquila talking about their previous Hogsmeade weekend when Narcissa stormed into the room and slammed the door shut.

"The nerve!" she exclaimed with enrage.

"What's wrong?" Aquila asked.

"Your brother, that's what's wrong!" Narcissa replied.

Gwen rolled her eyes. Lucius and Narcissa were always going at it. Seriously, they were like a middle-aged married couple or something.  
Lucius was always teasing her or something of the sort and it nearly always ended with Narcissa complaining about how big of a prat he was.

"What did Lucius do this time?" Aquila asked with an exasperated sigh.

"He asked me to the next Hogsmeade weekend and—"

"He did WHAT?!" Gwen exclaimed.

"It's about time," Aquila said, with a giggle at Gwen's exclamation.

"What do you mean 'it's about time'?" both Gwen and Narcissa asked, Gwen with confusion and Narcissa with annoyance.

"Don't tell me you've never noticed, Gwen," Aquila said slyly with a teasing grin towards Narcissa, "Narcissa is the only one that Lucius bothers; he obviously likes her and wants her attention."

"He does not!" Narcissa said indignantly.

Gwen grinned. "Now that you mention it, Aquila, I think that Lucius _does_ like Narcissa."

"No, Lucius is such a prat!" she protested, sending a glare in Gwen's direction.

Gwen and Aquila rolled their eyes simultaneously.

'Here we go again', Aquila mouthed.

"He said that he's asking me because I'm the only pretty girl he hasn't dated," Narcissa sniffed indignantly.

Gwen snickered as she recalled the one time she and Lucius had gone out on a date. It had been extremely awkward; somewhat like dating your brother. Thankfully, Lucius had agreed and though the majority of the Slytherins had insisted that they were 'the perfect couple', they themselves had decided that they were merely very good friends.

"He's just like Father, thinking that he can patronize girls just because he's a male," Narcissa continued disdainfully.

"He's just saying that because he doesn't want to admit that he likes you," Aquila soothed her.

"He does not—"

"Now that you mention it, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. _I_ should have known, you know how much Lucius and I think alike," said Gwen, cutting off her protest.

"Yeah, it's actually kind of scary how similar you two are," said Aquila. "You two are more similar to each other than you are to your own twins."

"That doesn't mean anything," Narcissa grumbled. 

"Anyway, my point is that its just Lucius' way of showing his feelings," said Gwen, ignoring her comment.

* * *

**March 14, 1975 Friday, 7:15 PM**

"Do I have to go?" Gwen groaned. "I'm so busy with school work _and_ quidditch."

"You can't just not go," Aquila protested, "Slughorn's our Head of House; we _have_ to go."

"Besides, you're one of the representatives of the House of Black, it would look bad if you didn't attend," Narcissa said clannishly.

"Why must you always bring that up? You're making me feel so left out," Aquila teased, faking a pout.

"It's okay, Aquila. Narcissa's eventually going to become a Malfoy anyway," Gwen said sweetly, grinning impishly at Narcissa.

"Are you coming or not?" Narcissa snapped, glaring threateningly at her.

"Oh fine, fine" Gwen grumbled as she started getting ready for one of Slughorn's parties.

Slughorn's parties were generally enjoyable since it was a good environment for meeting new people and making friends but she was a bit exhausted from the extra long practice session today. Besides, Sirius had detention today so he wouldn't even be there to keep her company.

---

"Hello," Gwen greeted the pretty Asian girl who was standing next to her, "I'm Gwen Black."

"Oh, yes, I know. You're the Slytherin Seeker," the girl replied.  
"I'm Saori Nam, fourth-year Hufflepuff," she introduced herself.

"So why does Slughorn invite you? He invited me because I'm a Black," Gwen said conversationally, with a shrug.

"My dad is the Minister of Magic of Asia," Saori explained.

"Wow," Gwen said admiringly.

Gwen thought for a moment, struggling to remember the Asian countries.  
"So are you Japanese or Chinese?" she asked.

Saori smiled. "Neither. I'm Korean."  
"Korea's a small country between China and Japan," she said, at Gwen's blank look.

"Saori, there you are," a voice said from behind them.

"Hey, Cassie," said Saori.

"Gwen, this is my best friend, Cassandra Bennett," Saori introduced, "Cassie, this is Gwen Black."

"Hi," the girls greeted each other with a smile. Gwen looked contemplatively at the girl, thinking that she looked a bit familiar.

"How many times do I have to tell you, _never_ call me Cassandra," Cassie grumbled to Saori.

"Cassandra's a perfectly nice name," said Saori.

"Were you named for the Seer, Cassandra Trelawney?" asked Gwen.

"Yes, Mum's a Divination fan. She named me Cassandra in hopes that I'll live up to the name or something," said Cassandra.  
"Unfortunately, I can't even 'see' what I did _yesterday_, let alone see into the future," she said jokingly.

"At least your mother named you after a famous _person_. My mother seems to have a thing for naming us kids after constellations; she named my brothers Sirius and Regulus," Gwen rolled her eyes, "Apparently it runs in the family since a lot of my ancestors were named Sirius or Regulus as well."

"Your name isn't a constellation though, is it?" asked Saori.

"No, Gwendolyn isn't a constellation. Mother wanted to name me 'Starr' though," said Gwen.

"Starr? Wow, took it a bit too far, didn't she?" laughed Cassie.

"Yes, luckily my dad thought so too, though it seems _he_ had a thing for the name 'Gwen' because according to Mother, he insisted that I be named 'Gwen', or nothing," said Gwen.  
"They fought over it for ages and I was ten months old before I was finally named Gwendolyn Starr Black," she finished.

Gwen grinned at Saori and Cassie who were both laughing.

"That's hilarious," said Saori.

"Yeah," Cassie nodded in agreement.  
"I'll never complain about my name again," she said solemnly.

The girls burst into laughter again and Gwen joined them.

"What about you, Saori?" asked Gwen, several minutes later.

"There really is no special story behind my name. Saori is just a typical Japanese name. I was born in Japan, hence my name," said Saori.

"Hey Gwen, are you coming to the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff match tomorrow?" asked Cassie.

"Yes, my friend Adrianne's on the Ravenclaw team," said Gwen.

"You mean the one who plays Chaser?" asked Saori.

"Yes. By the way, Cassie, aren't you the new chaser on the Hufflepuff team?" said Gwen, finally realizing why she had looked familiar.

"Yes, it's my second game tomorrow," Cassie said nervously.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Gwen assured her.

"I've seen her at practice, she's pretty good," said Saori.  
"You're lucky she got injured just before the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff match, Gwen, or we would've whipped you," she teased.

"Just wait until next year. Hufflepuff will finally beat Slytherin," said Cassie with a grin.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Gwen grinned back.

* * *

**April 3, 1975 Thursday, 11:00 PM**

Sirius and James cheerfully welcomed Gideon and Fabian as the twins joined them for detention.

"For your detention, you will scrub the floor of the Great Hall. With no magic," the new caretaker, Filch said with glee.

"So what have you guys done this time?" Sirius said with a grin, as soon as Filch rushed out of the Great Hall to investigate the crashing noise from above.

"Nothing, really," Gideon said offhandedly.

"Yeah, we just blew up a few toilets in the Prefect's bathroom," Gideon smirked.

The four laughed and James slyly asked, "How do you think Molly's gonna take it?"

_The Prewetts lived with their sister Molly and her husband Arthur. Their parents had died several years ago, right after the twins had started Hogwarts, and she had looked after them ever since even though she herself had barely graduated from Hogwarts back then. _

Fabian and Gideon snickered.

"Always causing some sort of trouble and fooling around when they should be studying for their NEWTs!" Gideon put on a high voice, imitating his sister.

"More irresponsible than Bill and Charlie put together!" continued Fabian, referring to her two sons.

Sirius and James erupted into laughter once again.  
_They had been to the Burrow where the twins lived and had met Arthur and Molly Weasley and their two sons, Bill and Charlie. Bill and Charlie who were nearly four and two, respectively, apparently took after their uncles and were mischievous little imps. _

"Speaking of NEWTs," Sirius said casually, "what do you guys plan to do after Hogwarts?"

"We want to become Aurors," Gideon said with a sudden air of solemnity that was uncommon for him.

"You know our parents were killed during a Death Eater attack," Fabian added.  
"They were extraordinary Aurors, Molly says."

Sirius and James also nodded solemnly.

"She doesn't want us to become Aurors though," Gideon said sympathetically. "She's always afraid the Death Eaters will get us too."

* * *

**April 5, 1975 Saturday, 6:45 AM**

"Ah, poor Prefects," Sirius snickered.

"Twice in one week," James added.

"Too bad we can't make Gwen and Remus help us, they're icky Prefects," Gideon chuckled.

"Of course we'll warn them not to use the Prefect's bathroom though," Fabian said generously.

The four of them each wrapped invisible cellophane over the toilet bowls. They then replaced the seats and poured Hagrid's treacle fudge, which they had melted and cast invisibility spells on, all over them.

Finally, they poured the fudge on every doorknob and handle.

---

Gwen smiled innocently as Melanie Flint, a seventh-year Prefect, came into the Prefect's bathroom.

"Hey, Flint," she greeted gaily.

"Black," she muttered a greeting before heading into a stall.

Gwen ran out of the bathroom, muffling her laughter, as she heard a high-pitched shriek come from the stalls and ran right into Sirius, James, Fabian, and Gideon who were practically rolling with laughter by the door.

Gwen grinned.  
"I never liked her much anyway," she said airily.

* * *


	7. Snape's Worst Memory

**Chapter 5: Snape's Worst Memory**

**Fifth Year**

**September 1, 1975 Monday, 7:00 PM**

Sirius and James anxiously watched as the sorting began. Normally, neither was remotely interested in the sorting nor bothered to even watch, but this year was different.

This year, they were waiting for someone.

"Diana Wood," Professor McGonagall announced.

Both Sirius and James watched intently as a small girl with chestnut brown hair and ocean blue eyes sat on the stool.

Sirius eyed her sadly.  
She wasn't really Diana _Wood_ but Davison, his youngest sister. She had been only a few months old when their parents had died.

Back when he had still been Lee Davison.

When their parents had passed away, his whole family had been ripped apart.  
Sirius had had three siblings; Chris who was three years older, Karen who was just a year younger than himself, and Diana who was four years younger.

Chris had been sent to live with their father's brother, Uncle Jeff, who lived in Norway. Since Chris had attended Durmstrang, Sirius rarely saw him during the school year and only occasionally during the holidays.

Next was Karen who was the mystery of the lot. She had disappeared without a trace after her adoption and Sirius had often wondered.  
Where was she now? Was she happy? Or was she being abused and mistreated by her new family?  
Was she even alive?

His youngest sister Diana on the other hand, had been adopted by the Woods who had wished to raise her as their own child and had asked the others not to reveal that she had been adopted. Sirius had always felt that it was unfair of the Woods to request such a thing, but had come to understand their motive as time passed.  
Having been adopted himself, Sirius could clearly understand how an adoptee felt.

It didn't matter how loving and kind his adoptive parents were.  
There were always the doubts, that constant need to please, and the fear that they too would leave him.

Sirius was grateful that Diana, at least, had not had to grow up amidst these emotions.

Sirius himself was supposed to have been adopted by the Potters.  
They had been given the authority, as immediate family, to choose one of the children to adopt. After much hesitation (after all, how can you be expected to readily choose between your nieces and nephews?), they had chosen to adopt Sirius.

Then the Blacks had asked to adopt Sirius.

_Why?_, Sirius had wondered numerous times.

Since the Potters had already asked to adopt Sirius, the Blacks had been offered the opportunity to adopt any of his other siblings.  
But the Blacks had been insistent on their decision and had announced that Sirius was the only one they wanted.

_Why? Why him? _

The Blacks and the Potters had fought for custody over Sirius and surprisingly, the Blacks had won.

_Why? How was that possible? Surely the Potters had the first priority as his aunt and uncle?  
It couldn't have been the Blacks' power or authority for they were equal in level of power, authority, wealth, blood status, and such. _

_But then, __**why**_?_**  
**_

And so, Lee Davison had become Sirius Lee Black.

Though he did wonder why the Blacks had adopted him, Sirius was always thankful that they had because he couldn't imagine life without Gwen.  
Even though he had mourned the loss of his parents and the separation from his siblings, he had managed because he had had Gwen.

He was aware that he and Gwen were different from the average brother and sister.  
By different, he wasn't simply referring to the fact that they weren't blood-related.  
Because he loved her as much as a sister, in fact even more than Chris who was his actual blood related sibling.

It was more that they had some sort of _bond_; greater than that of sibling, or even twins, and the best of friends.  
He couldn't really explain what it was; maybe he was still too young to understand.  
All he knew was that it had always been there between them and that he would never be able to find this sort of bond with anybody else.

---

**GRYFFINDOR!** The hat announced and Sirius and James cheered and clapped ecstatically.

Sirius had hoped, no _**prayed**_, that Diana would be in his House. He had been terrified that she, like Regulus, would end up in Slytherin and he would lose her as well, before he even got to know her.

When Regulus had begun at Hogwarts, Sirius had desperately hoped that he would be sorted into his House so that they could be like brothers, at least in one sense.  
Though they had been closer before Hogwarts, they had never been as close as Sirius had wished they could be.

They had never been as close with each other as both were with Gwen, perhaps due to rivalries.  
Regulus had always envied Sirius for the favor he earned with their father while Regulus himself was often reprimanded for being weak and too sensitive. Sirius, on the other hand, had always felt sorry and guilty towards Regulus, feeling that he was stealing their father's affection from Regulus.

Regulus' envy and Sirius' guilt had always become a unseen barrier between them and Sirius had hoped that they could be bonded through House unity but instead, an additional barrier had been formed between them.

* * *

**November 7, 1975 Friday, 11:38 PM**

"I did it!" Gwen shrieked with delight.

The other Marauders immediately looked to corner where she had been to see a flaming bird in her place.

"She's a bird," Peter said slightly perplexed, unable to see how there could be anything bird-like about her.

"Not just any bird," Remus started.

"Gwen's animagus form is," James continued.

"A phoenix," Sirius finished.

"It suits her," he said softly as he remembered the phoenix's powers and Gwen's own extraordinary 'power'.  
It also suited her since the phoenix was a firebird known for the healing powers of its tears and Gwen's dream was to become a Healer.

For the next few hours the boys, with Gwen's help, worked harder than ever now that their goal was nearly within their grasp, until finally…

"Bark!"

Gwen giggled as a large furry black dog leapt on her. The dog's fur was sleek and shaggy, just like Sirius' hair.

James had also succeeded in his transformation and was a stag.

"Wow, a deer," Peter said with awe.

"Not a deer, Peter, a stag."

A few months later Peter finally succeeded, with help from the rest, and transformed into a rat.

---

The Marauders were relaxing in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory when Sirius spoke up.  
"I've been thinking," he started.

"You!? Think!?" James asked with mock horror.

"Yes," Sirius waved a hand at him impatiently, "As I was saying, we should give each other nicknames."

"I'll go first," James volunteered.

Immediately, the other four began suggesting names.

"Rudolph. No, no Vixen!" Sirius said, "_Vixen_ is the one like you."

"Hey," James protested, "I am _not_ an arrogant prat!"

"If you say so." Sirius shrugged.

"Bambi."

"NO!" James glared.

"How about Prongs since your antlers look like prongs?" suggested Remus, the practical one.

"Okay."

"Your turn, Gwen."

"Fireball."

"No."

"Chicken."

"No," Gwen glared.

"What?" Sirius defended, "Phoenixes are reborn as chicks."

"Red."

"No."

"Singer."

Gwen mused over the name for a moment. Phoenixes were known for their magical song which increased the courage of those pure at heart and fear in those impure at heart.  
"No."

"Pearl."

"Aw, Sirius, I know you love me," Gwen grinned, "but why Pearl?"

"Because you, my Starr, are the pearl of my heart, my love," Sirius said solemnly, looking intently into her eyes.

"Likewise, love," Gwen replied as she gently stroked his cheek.

The pair then burst out laughing and James looked at them with amusement while Remus and Peter snorted, too accustomed to their pretentious 'flirtations' to think otherwise.  
This sort of behaviour was not uncommon between the two and apparently, they found it amusing to pretend to 'flirt'.

_Sirius and Gwen are, without a doubt, the strangest pair of twins I have ever met_, Remus thought with amusement.

"Now, if you two are done with your little make-out session," James teased, "why did you come up with the name 'Pearl', Sirius?"

"Because phoenixes are known for their healing tears," Sirius explained, "and tears are pearl-shaped."

"It's perfect," Gwen smiled.

"An unexpected ingenuity," said James, grinning as Sirius glared.

"Sirius' turn!"

"Furball."

"No," Sirius growled.

"Fluffy."

"No," he glared.

"But it's such a cute name," Gwen protested with a laugh.

"_Exactly_," Sirius muttered.

"Grim," James said, "No offence mate, but you look a lot like the Grim."  
"You could really scare the living daylights out of somebody one day," James said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Hmm," Sirius mused over the name, "No."

"Paws."

"No."

"By the way, it feels a bit strange having paws," Sirius commented.  
"I can't even move my fingers because they're pad-_Padfoot_," he finished thoughtfully.

"What?" Peter asked confusedly.

"Padfoot, I'm Padfoot," said Sirius.

"Hey! You can't name _**yourself**_," said James.

Sirius shrugged. "I'm special."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."

They rounded on Peter next.

"Mickey."

"No."

"Gus."

"No!"

"Lucifer."

"No." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Jerry."

"No!" Peter said, "I'm a _rat_, not a mouse."

"Why don't you transform so we can try to figure out a name?"

"Squeaky."

Peter whipped his tail furiously.

"Ugh, you know your tail looks just like a worm when you do that?" Sirius said looking slightly nauseous.

"Wormtail."

"Sure," Peter said as he transformed back.

Everyone turned to Remus.

"Wolf boy."

"Too obvious," Remus rolled his eyes.

"Beast."

"Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically.

"I guess that's a 'no'," Sirius replied cheekily.

"Fluffs."

"No. And don't even think of trying furball or fluffy."

"Don't fancy fur? How about hair? Hairball."

"Sirius! Be serious!" Gwen glared, daring him to make a pun.

"How about Moony since your Boggart turns into a moon?"

"Excellent."

* * *

**June 10, 1976 Thursday, 12 PM**

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were sitting under the beech tree by the lake after finishing their Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. Sirius was looking out into the lake, bored, when he spotted Severus.  
"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly.  
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted as Severus immediately reached for his wand.

"Impedimenta!"

Severus who had been diving to reach his wand was knocked off his feet and a crowd of students began to form.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.

"I was watching him; his nose was touching the parchment. There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word," Sirius said viciously as the crowd around them laughed.

"You—wait," Severus panted as he glared at James with loathing. "You—wait…"

"Wait for what?" Sirius said coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

"Wash out your mouth," James said coldly as Severus let out a mix of swearwords and hexes. "Scourify!"

Pink soap bubbles began to issue from Severus' mouths making him gag and choke.

"Leave him ALONE!" Lily yelled furiously from behind him.

"All right, Evans?" James said in an impressive, or so he thought, tone.

"Leave him alone," Lily demanded, ignoring his question. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," James said, seeming to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…."

The crowd began to laugh but Lily merely stared at him coldly. "You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," James said quickly with a grin. "Go on…Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," Lily said with outrage.

Outrage at him for tempting her and at herself for being tempted.

Every chance he got, he would ask her out, and every time she would be forced to remind herself of the consequences if she did accept.  
Because though she despised his arrogance, his bullying, his immaturity there was no denying the attraction she felt towards him.

It had always been that way, from the first moment she had seen him.  
And the more she told herself that she had to stay away from James Potter, the more she told herself she had to resist, the more she couldn't, no didn't even _want to_, resist.

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said briskly then cried out in surprise as he turned to Severus. "OY!"

With a flash of light, a gash appeared on James' face splattering his robes with blood.  
Fortunately for James, he had good reflexes in battle and in a flash, Severus was hanging upside down in the air, revealing his skinny legs and graying underpants, and James had the upper hand once more.

"Let him down!" Lily said furiously as she barely managed to suppress a smile.

"Certainly," said James and Snape fell to the ground in a heap but quickly stood up with his wand up.

"Locomotor mortis!" said Sirius and Severus kneeled over, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" shouted Lily as she took out her own wand.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

(_Draco snickered. "Now we know where Harry gets his hero complex from."_

_Liana laughed. "Remind me to show him this. He'll love to 'meet' his parents."_

Sighing deeply, James turned to Severus and muttered the countercourse. "There you go, you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked then said coolly, "Fine, I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."  
Severus really _had_ changed. Lily hadn't wanted to acknowledge it, but it was the truth. She finally had to acknowledge that they could no longer maintain their friendship, not when they were on opposite sides of the war.

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Severus, pointing his wand at him.

"I don't want you to make him apologize," shouted Lily as she rounded on James, "you're just as bad as he is…"

"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a—you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just gotten off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK," said Lily before she turned on her heel and stormed away.

_Don't let him distract you, Lily, _Lily told herself as she stormed away.  
_He's only interested because he thinks you're a challenge. He only thinks you're a challenge._

Perhaps she could come to believe it if she told herself so enough times.  
Because deep down, Lily knew that it wasn't actually fear of heartbreak but of death that kept her away from James. Yes. _**Death**_. Ever since she could remember, Lily had had that dream. The dream that always left her breathless and terrified. It was always the exact same dream yet the fear never ceased.

**[Flashback of dream**

_Lily was in a cozy living room sitting on the couch next to a young man with messy jet black hair and hazel eyes. Both appeared to be in their early twenties and Lily was holding a small child in her arms. _

"_I'll be right down after I put Harry in his crib, James," said Lily as she smiled at the man._

"_Goodnight, Harry," said James lovingly as he kissed his tiny forehead. _

_Suddenly, James became still as a horrified look came over his face._

"_Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"_

_Lily rushed from the room as she heard the door being crashed down. All too soon, HE was in front of her and Lily began screaming and pleading. With a green flash of light, Lily was engulfed in darkness and she woke with a start._

**[End of flashback**

Lily had always thought that the dream was merely that; a very chilling and realistic dream but yes, just a dream.

But then she had come to Hogwarts and had met James. He, the man from her dream, could only be _**him**_. They looked too much alike, not to mention the identical names, for it to be a mere coincidence.  
And she was afraid that if she gave in to James and went out with him, the dream would become a reality. She told herself that it was because she knew that James would use her that she kept him away, not because of the dream. Even to herself, she did not acknowledge that she feared the dream, because perhaps if she didn't acknowledge it, it would somehow go away…

She was unworthy of being a Gryffindor.  
Yes, she was a coward, but was it really so _bad_ of her to be afraid? Who could blame her? Who could be expected to deliberately choose a certain path when one clearly knew where it would lead?

Murder and heartbreak.  
James_would_ end up breaking her heart, that much was true. Because he would leave her. Albeit it wouldn't be abandonment, it would not change the heartbreak.  
That combination of sorrow, grief, and anguish far more intense then anything she had ever felt or believed possible; that ache which stayed with her even after she had awoken.

And so she had to break free, to walk away, while she could.

"Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!"  
"What is it with her?" he said, trying and failing to look nonchalant.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius with a slight smirk.

"Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right—"  
_Why does she hate __**me**__ so much? It's not fair,_ he thought angrily.

She had never even given him a chance. He had liked her the moment he had seen her and she had hated him just as instantly.

**[Flashback**

James was sitting in a compartment with several other new first years while Sirius was with his neighborhood friends.

He had been discussing their excitement on attending Hogwarts with the others; Frank Longbottom, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas Meadows, and Alice Cullen, when the compartment door opened.

"Hi, do you mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full," a pretty girl with long auburn hair and emerald green eyes said. "I'm Lily Evans by the way."

"I'm Adrianne Belby," the girl next to her said.

"Sure, we don't mind," Alice said generously while the others nodded in welcome.

James simply stared at Lily, unable to look away.

One by one, the others in the compartment began to introduce themselves.

"I'm James Potter," said James, smiling at Lily.

Immediately, a look that was a cross between shock and horror came across her face as she looked at him before she scowled and quickly turned away.

James looked away, feeling slightly hurt by her unspoken rejection.

_No, no, it couldn't be true…It's just a coincidence that he looks like the man from my dream,_ Lily was telling herself desperately.  
_But it wasn't._

**[End of flashback**

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" said James as he hung Severus upside down in the air with his wand.

Before he could so much as lift his wand however, Severus' pants had dropped to reveal white briefs covered with large red hearts, causing the crowd around them to laugh hysterically.  
The Marauders looked at Severus in shock for a moment before they too joined in the laugher.

"I always knew you were gay," Sirius wheezed, "but _hearts_?"

"They're not mine," Severus growled, turning bright red. He scanned the crowd and caught a mischievous smirk before with a flash of red, she was gone.  
"Lily," he growled.

"Uh-oh, look!" Peter suddenly yelped as a figure headed towards them.

The crowd around them immediately dispersed as they saw her fuming expression.

"Merlin, she doesn't look toohappy, does she?" James said apprehensively, taking in her fuming expression.

"I'm sure you can calm her down a little, can't you, Padfoot? She always listens to you…"

"I suppose," Sirius replied doubtfully.

She reached the Willow tree and the Marauders cringed as she glared at them.  
"Must you guys always humiliate Severus like that?" she demanded irritably. "There's a difference between pranking and bullying!"

For the next few minutes, she continued to berate them and by the time she had finished, even the incorrigible Marauders were almost looking shamed. Almost.

"Aw, Gwen, must you always ruin our fun?" Sirius pouted

"You mustn't pick on poor Severus just because you're bored, Sirius," said Gwen, rolling her eyes.

_("Well, you have to hand it to her; the only one capable of handling the infamous Marauders," said Liana admiringly. _

"_Yes," Draco agreed._  
"_There's something about her that makes you respect her, something that commands obedience…perhaps her charisma?" he mused, "she just has an air of… authority."_

"_She's not the only one you know," said__ Liana _  
"_You have that too, that 'charisma' as you call it," she informed him as he merely looked at her with astonishment. _

"_I do?" _

"_Yes, you do. Didn't you ever notice how easily you're able to influence others when you want to?" Liana asked incredulously. "Not all of us are capable of obtaining what we want as easily, you know."_  
"_Besides, you didn't think it was just because of you father that you were the 'Slytherin Prince', as you call it, did you?" she questioned at Draco's astonished look._

"_Well, actually I did," he admitted. _

"_There's a limit to how much authority money or a powerful father can give you," Liana stated with a knowing air._  
"_But I suppose you're right in a sense about it being because of your father since you got the trait from him. He had it too," she said._

"_Well, that's nice to know," Draco smirked.)_

_--- _

The next morning Gwen came down to breakfast to see that Severus wasn't amongst their usual group of friends.

"Where's Severus?" Gwen asked.

"He didn't come to back our dorm last night," Lucius replied.

"I heard he's staking out in front of the Gryffindor common room," said Evan.

"Yeah, he's waiting for that Mudblood Evans," said Magus.

"Don't call her a Mudblood," Gwen said crossly.

Rabastan snorted. "What is it about her that has both you and Severus so enraptured with her?" he asked.

"She's a great person. You would see it too if you let yourselves," Gwen retorted.

After breakfast Gwen left the hall accompanied by Aquila and Narcissa as usual.

"Where are you going?" asked Narcissa as Gwen headed for the staircase.

"I'm going to the Gryffindor common room to find Severus," Gwen replied.  
"You two can go on ahead to our common room," she added.

"Alright."  
With a wave the two disappeared into the dungeons while Gwen headed to the Gryffindor tower.  
She reached the entrance to find Severus sitting in front of the portrait. The portrait door opened and several sixth years filed out, giving him dirty looks as they passed.

"What happened?" Gwen said softly.

Severus let out a deep sigh. "I was a bloody fool. Lily was defending me and I got embarrassed and insulted her…I called her a Mudblood."

He gave another sigh. "I can't believe I called her that. I didn't even _realize_ that I thought her one until it slipped out."  
"Do you remember when the three of us first met on the train?" he asked abruptly.

Gwen nodded, smiling slightly at the memory.

"I thought we would always remain friends then. I thought that it wouldn't matter that she was in Gryffindor and I in Slytherin. I thought it wouldn't matter that she was Muggle-born. The war came between us in the end though," said Severus.

_The war came between us in the end though. _

The words echoed in her mind. Would she and Sirius be able to keep the war from coming between them? Or would it come between the two of them as well?

If so, how much more time did she have before they would be estranged?

* * *


	8. Noble House of Black

**Chapter 6: Noble House of Black**

**June 10, 1976 Thursday, 5:30 PM**

"Now that we've taken our OWLs, what do you guys want to do after we leave Hogwarts?" asked Gwen.

The Marauders were still under the Willow tree and Adrianne had joined them.  
Over the year, Adrianne had become a good friend of all the Marauders, and especially of Remus.

"You already know that I want to be an Auror and I know you want to be a Healer," Sirius replied with a lazy drawl.

"Which reminds me that McGonagall told you that you have to be more serious if you want to be a Auror," said Gwen with a smirk.

"So you're not going to play pranks anymore?" said Peter, looking thunderstruck.

"No." Sirius snorted. "I just told her that I _am_ Sirius."

"Bet that pleased her," smirked James.

"Oh," said Peter, looking relieved.

"Peter, Peter, Peter," drawled Sirius, "Who am I?"

"Uh, Sirius," said Peter, looking perplexed.

"Exactly. I'm _**The**_ Sirius Black, the mastermind behind our pranks,-_James__coughed loudly_-and king of practical jokes," Sirius continued, ignoring him.

"King of arrogance, more like," Gwen muttered.

"Where would the Marauders be without me?" Sirius said proudly.

"Somewhere over the rainbow," Adrianne said dramatically, pointing to the sky.

"Huh?" Sirius said, dumbfounded, as the others laughed.

"Nothing, just being random," Adrianne grinned.

"At least it shut him up." Remus grinned.

"Hey!"

"I knew there was a reason we like you," said James.

"Anyway, what do the rest of you guys want to do after Hogwarts?" Gwen asked.

James shrugged. "I'm not really sure but I've also told McGonagall that I might want to be an Auror."

"So what did Slughorn tell you, anyway?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, you know he is," Gwen said dismissively, "He was just going on about how suitable I am for the job, the people that he can introduce me to, and so on."

"Figures," Sirius snorted.

"What about you, Adrianne?" Remus asked Adrianne who had remained silent the whole time they were discussing their future career.

Adrianne hesitated for a long moment before she answered. "I want to work in the Department of Magical Creatures."

"As what?" James pressed.

"As a werewolf hunter," she finally answered.

The Marauders looked at her in stunned silence and barely managed to keep from glancing over at Remus.

"Why would you do that?" Gwen managed to break the silence.

"Yes, what have they ever done to you?" Sirius demanded.

Adrianne looked at him for a long moment with an incomprehensible look on her face.  
"They've done a lot to me!" she burst out with a rage and bitterness they had never seen in her before, "I lost my father to werewolves! Werewolves ruined my life."

"I'm sorry," Remus said quietly.

Adrianne managed to calm down and smiled apologetically at her outburst.

"It's alright." Adrianne smiled warmly at him.  
"It's not your fault. It doesn't have anything to do with you," she assured him

_If only you knew…if only you knew, _Remus thought sadly.

"So what do you want to do, Wormtail?" Gwen quickly said, trying to divert the attention away from Remus.

"I don't really know yet but Mum wants me to work in the Ministry like Aunt Ella," Peter replied, referring to his mother's sister.

Remus sent Gwen a grateful look and sighed with relief as the conversation switched to their summer plans.

* * *

**June 20, 1976 Friday, 6:50 PM**

"Hello Mr., Mrs. Lupin," the Marauders greeted Remus' parents as they spotted them in the packed train station.

"Mum, Dad," Remus greeted his parents, then motioned to Adrianne who was the only one of the group whom his parents had never met.  
"This is my friend Adrianne Belby."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," Adrianne said with a sweet smile.

Instead of greeting her back, the pair paled and stared at her for a long moment.

"Is something wrong?" Adrianne shifted uneasily.

"No, no," Mr. Lupin assured her and chuckled, "We just thought you looked familiar for moment."  
"Nice to meet you, Adrianne."

"Mum?" Remus turned to his mother who was still staring at Adrianne in a trance-like state.

"Oh yes," she said as she snapped out of her trance, "Pleasure to meet you, dear."

After the group had exchanged their goodbyes, the Lupins flooed home.

"She seems like a nice young lady," Mrs. Lupin said tenderly.

"Yes, she is." Remus smiled.

"So, does she know about your condition?" Mr. Lupin asked as he glanced over at his wife.

"Well, no," Remus paused, "I couldn't tell her."

"Why not? All your other friends know and look how loyal they are," Mr. Lupin pressed.

"She's different," Remus hesitated then said softly, "Her father was killed by a werewolf."

His parents exchanged confused glances.

"Adrianne said that?" his mother asked unexpectedly.

If anything, Remus had expected his mother to be shocked by the news, not confused.

"Yes, she said she lost her father to werewolves."

"Remus dear, Adrianne's loss is not your fault," Mrs. Lupin said gently.

"Yes, but I'm a werewolf too," Remus said softly.

"Remus, you are as much of a victim as Adrianne is," Mrs. Lupin continued firmly.

"It's not the same. Adrianne couldn't help it," he paused, "but I could have prevented it if I wanted to. We were attacked because we went in the woods when Dad told us not to."

His parents exchanged wary glances then his father spoke.

"Remus, there's something I need to tell you," he said. "Have you ever heard of Fenrir Greyback?"

"I think so...Wasn't he the one in the Daily Prophet a few months ago for his attack on a group of Muggle children?" said Remus with a shudder.  
"What does he have to do with us?" he asked.

"Everything. He was the one that attacked you."

"So are you saying the attack wasn't a coincidence?" Remus said slowly.

"Yes, I sort of, uh, offended him so…" Mr. Lupin trailed off. "I'm sorry Remus."

"It's not your fault, Dad," Remus assured him.

His parents exchanged another glance and Mrs. Lupin nodded tensely but Mr. Lupin shook his head.

'Later', he mouthed.

* * *

**Summer Sixth Year**

**August 12, 1976 Thursday, 1:42 PM**

"I'm so bored," Sirius moaned.

"So what do you guys want to do?" asked Gwen.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" said Regulus.

"I don't know. What do _you_ want to do?" Sirius replied.

"This is going nowhere." Gwen rolled her eyes.  
"Let's go rafting like we did last summer," she suggested.

"Sure, anything's better than staying home all day," Sirius agreed.

"Rafting sounds good," said Regulus. "Let's race."

Once they arrived at the river, which was less than a mile away from their house, they transfigured rocks into three small raft boats.

"One…two…three…go!" Regulus said and they immediately began to paddle forward.

A mile or so down the river, they transfigured pebbles into buckets and began to throw buckets of water toward each other.

Regulus grinned as he saw the mischievous spark in Sirius eye and nodded.  
_Three, two, one…_

Sirius and Regulus turned to Gwen and began to relentlessly shower her with buckets of water.  
"Sirius! Regulus!" she shrieked as her boat began to sink under the water.

"Oops." Sirius grinned as they quickly began to scoop the water back out with their buckets.

"Come on, let's go another mile down," said Regulus as he started to paddle again.

"Hey, wait for us," said Sirius as he quickly picked up his paddles.

Regulus who was already half a mile ahead suddenly began to shout. "Hurry up, guys! There's something here, some sort of cave!"

"How come we've never seen this cave before? We've been here loads of times," said Gwen cautiously as they approached the cave entrance.

"It must be because it's been hidden by this tree over here," said Regulus, pointing to the fallen tree next to the cave.

"Yes, come on. What are we waiting for, let's go," Sirius said impatiently.

Sirius had just whipped out his wand to light the cave when a voice spoke from amongst the bushes and they turned to see a Muggle boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old.

"You guys going to go exploring in there?" he asked.

Sirius quickly dropped his wand into his boat before replying. "Sure, why not?"

"I would be careful if I were you. Years ago, a pair of kids went in there and rumor is, they haven't been the same since. And that's why Matron planted that tree over there by the entrance," the boy said, with a wink at Gwen.

"So you're here with your brother and girlfriend?" he asked with a grin at Sirius who had scowled.

Regulus laughed. "You're right about the brother part but Sirius and Gwen are twins."

"Oops, my bad," the boy grinned. "I'm Gilbert, by the way. Are you guys from around here?"

"Yes, we live in the neighborhood a few miles up the river," Gwen replied.

"Where are you from? We weren't aware that there was a orphanage around here," said Sirius.

"There isn't. The orphanage is in Cantbury but Matron takes us kids on trips during the summer," said Gilbert.

"So what was in the cave?" asked Regulus.

"Who knows?" Gilbert shrugged. "It's an old story in the orphanage, from decades ago. I've been told that most people suspected that it wasn't really the cave itself but the boy who went in the cave with them, though they couldn't prove it."  
"They say that he was always sort of queer," he added darkly.

"Queer? How so?" asked Gwen.

"Well, it wasn't really him but the things that happened around him. Like if someone upset him, something bad would happen to that person," explained Gilbert.

"Sounds eerie," said Regulus.

"Yes," Gilbert nodded.  
He looked down at his wrist watch then stood up.

"Well, I have to be at the park by twelve o'clock for lunch. Maybe I'll see you around before we go back," said Gilbert, with a wave.

They waved back at him as he disappeared out of sight amongst the bushes.

"Interesting," Sirius grinned as he looked into the cave.

"Are you sure we should be going in there?" Regulus asked anxiously.

"Don't be such a coward," Sirius retorted.

"I'm not a coward," Regulus protested. "I'm just, uh, precautious."

"It's alright, Regulus. What's the worst that can happen?" Sirius asked.

"We have our wands, remember?" said Gwen, as Regulus gave Sirius an incredulous look.

"Yeah, how much do you want to bet that all they saw were a couple of Boggarts?" Sirius said with a snort. "I mean, Muggles _can_ be a bunch of idiots at times."

Regulus snorted. "And Mother calls _you_ 'Muggle lover'," he muttered sarcastically.

"Besides, I think it probably was the boy, not the cave," said Gwen.  
"Didn't you hear what Gilbert said? Strange things happened around the boy when he was upset or something. Clearly he was a Wizard or something," she added.

"Really sadistic of him if you ask me, to use his power against innocent Muggle children," Regulus muttered.

"Tell me about it," said Gwen.

"And that was just when he was a kid," said Sirius darkly, "I'd hate to think what he grew up to be like."

The three gave a slight shudder then lit their wands as they entered the cave and to Regulus' relief and Sirius' disappointment, it was fairly ordinary and harmless.

"There's some sort of light further down," Gwen said after they had paddled for about twenty minutes.

"It's a tunnel," said Regulus, as the light grew brighter as they reached the end of cave.

The three stared speechlessly around them as they finally came out into the light.

"It's-it's an island," Gwen breathed with awe.

The island was closed off by mountains on all sides, giving it a sort of remote and isolated air. The tunnel that they had come through was located at the foot of one of the mountains that concealed the small island.

"Let's split up and go exploring," Sirius said excitedly.

"Send up red sparks if anything happens," said Gwen.

"We really shouldn't be using magic if we can help it," Regulus said helplessly.

"Better scream really loud then. We'll _try_ to come and get you while you're still in one piece," said Sirius.

"_Sirius_," Gwen said warningly. "It's alright, Reg. There's no way the Ministry is going to know it's us."

"Ah, the advantages of having Wizarding parents," Sirius grinned.

"Alright, I'll go straight ahead. Regulus, you go left and you go right, Gwen," said Sirius.

"Okay," said Gwen as she started to walk toward the path.

Gwen had walked about twenty minutes in the path which was surrounded by large trees and wild flowers when she spotted a black dog in the distance.  
"Sirius!" she shouted as she ran towards the dog.

_Sirius! Sirius! Sirius! _the echo called back to her.

"Wow," Gwen whispered with delight.  
"Hey, come back!" she called as the dog sprinted away.

"Are you okay, Gwen?" Sirius gasped out from behind her.

"Yes, of course," Gwen replied. "Did you run all the way here?"

"Yes, I thought you were calling for help," said Sirius.

"Wait a minute. Who's that then?" Gwen said, pointing to the dog in the distance.

"Well, it's definitely not me. I can tell you that much," Sirius shrugged. "Probably a stray."

Sirius transformed into his animagus form and began to chase the dog.

The dog began to slow as Sirius approached it and began to bark with delight.

_He's clearly been lonely,_ Sirius thought with sympathy.

Once he was face to face with the dog, Sirius realized why Gwen had mistaken the dog for him. It was a miniature version of his Animagus form and was a puppy of only a few months old.

The puppy began to sniff him and wagged its tail endearingly.

"It's so cute!" Gwen cooed as she approached them, then began to call for Regulus.  
"REGULUS!" she shouted.

_Regulus…Regulus…Regulus_…the echo called back.

"_Alright, I'm coming!"_ they heard his echo from the distance and Sirius changed back into his human form.

By the time Regulus had arrived fifteen minutes later, the puppy was on Sirius' lap and was happily licking his face.

"Nice puppy," Regulus said delightedly.

"Come on, let's go home now," said Sirius as he picked up the puppy in his arms.

They headed back to the cave entrance, each talking about their own discoveries.

"The island's pretty much deserted," said Regulus as they reached their boats.  
"He must have been pretty lonely," he added, patting the puppy on the head.

"Yes, lucky there's so much food around though. He wouldn't have survived until now otherwise," said Sirius.

"Goodbye!" Gwen called, with one last look at the island.

_Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!_ the echo greeted.

Gwen grinned. "Echo island," Gwen named cheerfully.

* * *

**August 18, 1976 Wednesday, 11:10 AM**

"Hey Gwen, check this out," said Regulus.

Regulus snorted as he read over the Daily Prophet article then handed her the paper.

"Looks like Snape landed himself in some sort of scrape during the summer."

"Snivellus? What'd he do that's worth printing in the Daily Prophet?" Sirius sneered.

"Is there any use in telling you to stop calling him that?" said Gwen, rolling her eyes.

"No," Sirius replied.

"Yeah. Thought so."

Gwen began to read the article with Sirius reading over her shoulder.

'**Hogwarts student on trial for Muggle attack'** Sirius read out loud.

Sixteen year old Severus Snape of Slytherin, Hogwarts was put on trial yesterday for his attack on a forty year old Muggle man. Performance of magic in front of a Muggle, or worse actual performance of magic on a Muggle is a violation severe enough to bring a sentence of a minimum of three months in Azkaban. Furthermore, young Severus has also violated the Restriction of underage magic degree which can result in expulsion. Surprisingly however, Snape was acquitted and was merely received a fine of fifty galleons. Perhaps the rumor that Snape bribed the authorities is not a rumor after all?

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Sirius bellowed.

"No, you are," said Regulus calmly then sniggered as Sirius slot him a glare.

"What-how-" Sirius struggled for words. _How had he gotten off so easily?_

"I'm sure there's an explanation," Gwen soothed.

"Just acting like a typical Slytherin if you ask me," Sirius muttered.

"Honestly, Sirius. You should know better, having two lovely Slytherins for siblings," Gwen teased.

"Well, I don't know about the 'lovely' part but personally, I think your 'all Slytherins are evil bastards' stereotype is too overrated," said Regulus.

"Yes, just like that ridiculous 'all Hufflepuffs are pushovers' stereotype. Believe me, Saori and Cassie are _not_ pushovers," said Gwen.

"Fine. There are the occasional exceptions, like you and Regulus from Slytherin," said Sirius, "but the average Slytherin is_definitely_ a evil git."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "It just seems that way to you because you're a Gryffindor. _I'm_ a Slytherin. I know them and they're not half as bad as they make themselves out to be."

"If you say so," said Sirius, unconvinced.

* * *

**Sixth Year**

**September 6, 1976 Monday, 9:20****PM**

Sirius was heading down to the dungeons in search of Gwen when he heard voices by the entrance of the Slytherin common room. He stopped as he recognized Snape's voice amongst the group of Slytherins.

"-just a Muggle drunkard," Snape was saying.

"What'd you curse him with?" a boy with smooth dark hair asked eagerly.

"Just a simple blasting charm. Lucky for him, there are laws to protect those filthy Muggles or else I would have finished him off," said Snape.

"Lucky you got off so easily though," said a girl with short blond hair.

"Yes, and _**he**_ won't be so lucky next time he runs into me, the filthy Muggle," said Snape with a sneer.

Sirius shook with fury as the group burst out laughing, and took a step toward them from the corner he had been hidden by, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?" said Regulus. "I think Gwen went to the Gryffindor common room to look for you."

"Alright, thanks," said Sirius, his voice still shaking from anger.

"Don't let him get to you, he's just showing off," Regulus said comfortingly.  
"I'll tell him off if it'll make you feel better. Ah, the advantages of being a Prefect," he added with a smirk.

"Now_**that**_ I like to see. Snape told off by my baby bro," said Sirius, regaining his usual grin.

Regulus rolled his eyes then approached the group. "And what _**do**_ you plan to do, Snape, if you do meet that Muggle again? Show off your lovely undergarments like you did end of last term? I suppose the sight _will_ be more than enough," he said with a sneer, pricking his sensitive spot.  
"Now if you're done with your little fairy tale, stop loitering in the hall and get into the common room."

Snape flushed at the mention of the unpleasant incident and looked venomously at him as the group around them laughed. "I think I have a right to stand outside my own common room before curfew, Black," he spat.

"And I'm sure the authorities would be pleased to hear of your _fond_ recollection of your encounter with the Muggle, Snape," said Regulus with a malicious smile.

"Aww, come on, Reg, you wouldn't really tell. We were only jesting," said a tall boy with light hair and eyes.

"Get in, Snape," said Regulus, still smiling.

"Come on, let's go in, it's too chilly out here anyway," said another girl with dark hair and eyes.  
"Besides, you don't want to get on the wrong side of a Black," she teased with a smile at Regulus.

Regulus smirked. "Good to see you know, Jasmine."

Jasmine laughed. "There's no stopping you Blacks and your arrogance," she said fondly.

The group headed inside and Snape followed, still glaring at Regulus.

"Don't be so hard on Snape, just because he and your brother don't get along, Reg," the tall boy was saying.

"Rick, if there's one thing you should learn of the Noble House of Black, it's that we defend our own before anything else," said Regulus, winking at Sirius before he entered the common room.

_Thanks, Reg,_ Sirius thought with a grin.

* * *


	9. Absolute Nightmare

**Chapter 7: Absolute Nightmare**

**September 10, 1976 Thursday, 9:15 AM**

"Hey, Captain! Look at this," Diana said excitedly as she ran over to Sirius, who was sitting in his armchair by the fire.  
Sirius had been selected as the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Diana, who was now in 2nd year, was the team's newest player. As a Seeker, she had filled in for the position of Emmeline who had been Captain and Seeker the previous year.

_She isn't as skilled as Emmeline yet but she definitely has the talent and potential, which isn't really surprising since she __**is**__ related to me, after all_, Sirius thought with satisfaction.

"What is it, Diana?" said Sirius with a smile.  
He carefully scrutinized her, once again getting the feeling that Diana was a lot like someone he knew, though he couldn't figure out who it was. Of course she was the spitting image of their mother but he was sure it was somebody else that she reminded him of.  
But then, who?

"Isn't he so adorable? Mum and Dad just send it to me," Diana said proudly, waving a picture in front of him.

The picture was of a baby with brown hair and eyes. The baby brandished his tiny fists at him and Sirius laughed.  
"Yes, he is," he said sincerely. "Who is he? Your cousin?"

"No, he's my little brother, Oliver," Diana replied.

"What? I thought your parents couldn't have kids," Sirius blurted out.

"Huh?" said Diana with confusion.

"Uh, I mean, I got confused with somebody else," Sirius said hastily.  
"So when was the baby born?" he asked.

"He was born in May but Mum and Dad didn't even tell me until I got home this summer. No _wonder_ they told me not to come home for Easter vacation. Imagine my surprise when I came home to find a new baby brother!" Diana laughed.

_So the Woods had their own child now,_ Sirius thought worriedly.  
What would happen to his Diana now? Before now, she had been beloved since they hadn't had their own child but now that they did, would Diana be pushed back into second place?  
Would all their love for Diana go to this new baby?

_Wait a minute-did she say..?_  
"They wouldn't _let_ you come home for Easter vacation?" Sirius demanded.

"Yeah, they wanted to surprise me," Diana giggled. "And you have to admit, it would ruin the surprise if I saw my mother a month before the baby was born."

"Aren't you worried?" Sirius asked cautiously. "Aren't you afraid that your parents might love this baby more than they do you?"

"Of course not," Diana laughed.  
"I know how much Mum and Dad love me," she said warmly.

Sirius nodded and Diana continued to speak.

"Anyway, I'm so glad I'm not a only child anymore. It was so lonesome being an only child, even if Mum and Dad _do_ spoil me a bit." Diana grinned.  
"Anyhow, I'm glad he's a boy. I've always wanted a brother, though I_would_ have preferred an older one."

Sirius smiled. "I'll be your older brother if you want," he offered.

"Really? Thanks," Diana beamed. "I've always felt that you're sort of like an older brother to me anyway."

_You have no idea,_ thought Sirius as he watched Diana skip off to join her friends.

* * *

**September 13, 1976 Monday, 4:27 PM**

"Oi, Snivellus, have a nice day?" James sneered.

"Would you be able to have a nice day if you had to see that face staring back at you in the mirror every day, Prongs?" Sirius said nastily.

Peter laughed and nodded fervently in agreement.

Instead of sneering or retorting back, Severus merely smiled as he looked at the three Gryffindors.  
"I see that Lupin is…_missing_," he said silkily. "I wonder if has something to do with the, what do you call it? Oh yes, the Whomping Willow."

"What do you know about the Whomping Willow?" Sirius demanded.

"Nothing, just that Lupin seems to enjoy visiting it," said Severus.

Sirius reddened with anger as Severus sneered at them, recalling his recent recollection of his encounter with the Muggle man. At that moment, Sirius wanted more than anything to hurt him as much as rationally possible.

James quickly jumped up before Sirius could attack him, seeing his murderous expression. "Do us a favor and keep your abnormally large nose out of our business, Snivellus."  
"Come on, Padfoot, Wormtail, let's go," he said, beckoning to them.

Sirius stayed back as James and Peter headed to the castle then turned to Severus and lowered his voice so that only he could hear.  
"You really want to know where Remus goes?" he sneered. "Just press the knot at the bottom with a stick and follow him in."  
He walked away laughing as he pictured Severus meeting up with a werewolf. Though Severus would never _actually_ take his advice, it _was_ satisfying, nevertheless, to simply imagine him being attacked by the werewolf.

"What did you say to Snivellus?" asked James.

Sirius snickered. "Just told him how to follow him in if he wants to know so much."

"WHAT?" Peter squeaked.

"Are you out of your mind, Sirius?" James bellowed.

"Calm down, Prongs. If there's anything I know about Slytherins, it's that they're overly suspicious. Snivellus is never going to think that I'm telling the truth, only that I'm trying to bait him again. Besides, even if it weren't so, what reason does he have to think that I'm not merely baiting him?" Sirius said calmly.

"But-" James still looked unconvinced.

"Remember second year and the giant squid? Fourth year and the Hog's Head? You know the motto 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'? He's not going to fall for our tricks again."

"I suppose so." James nodded.

"Padfoot is right. Snivellus would never take anything we have to say seriously," Peter said in agreement.

* * *

**October 10, 1976 Sunday, 5: 44 PM**

"It's almost that time of the month, Sirius," said Gwen.

Several girls nearby giggled as they overheard, looking scandalized.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not _that_ 'that time of the month'," he growled at them.

"Let's go visit Moony's 'furry little friend' later at say, seven o'clock, shall we?" said James quietly.

---

Several hours later, the three of them, accompanied by Peter, were sneaking out of Hogwarts towards the Whomping Willow under James' invisibility cloak.

James suddenly stopped. "Who's that?" He pointed at the figure in the distance that was approaching the Whomping Willow.

"That IDIOT!" Sirius burst out.

"SNAPE?" said James with horror, as the figure began to search the ground near the tree.

"Snape?" Gwen repeated with confusion.

"Yes," said James tensely.  
"This idiot over here," he motioned towards Sirius, "told Snape, for a joke, that he should try pressing the knot in the willow, and you know the rest…"

"What were you thinking, Sirius?" Gwen said with disbelief.

"I don't know; I was just angry about the _Daily Prophet_ issue and then I heard him boasting to the other Slytherins," Sirius explained dejectedly.

Comprehension dawned Gwen's face and she groaned. Regulus had told her about his confrontation with Snape so she knew what Sirius was referring to.  
"Sirius, that Muggle man was Severus' father! He was just trying to stop his father from abusing his mother," Gwen said indignantly.

"I didn't know," Sirius said slowly with sudden remorse, as if just realizing what he had done.

The Whomping Willow had already frozen in the distance and Snape had already gone in through the entrance.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We can't just stay here and let Severus meet a werewolf!" Gwen yelled, snapping the others into attention.

"What can we do though," Peter said weakly, "If we go in there after him, we might be…you know."  
"Maybe Snape will be able to run away," he added hopefully.

"We can't just let him be attacked; we have to do something! Besides, don't you realize that Severus isn't the only one is danger? If something happens to him, Remus will be the one in trouble," said Gwen, a note of panic in her voice.

"You're right, what have I done?" said Sirius, paling. He began to run towards the Whomping Willow.

The others immediately chased after him.

"Padfoot! Padfoot!" James yelled after him. "Calm down, get your head together. You can't go in there like this."

"I have to go. It's all my fault. _It's all my fault_," Sirius muttered frantically.

"Sirius, you can't go in this condition. I'll go," said Gwen.

"NO!" Sirius yelled, attempting to break free.

"Gwen, calm Padfoot down. I'll go," said James.

James and Peter transformed into their Animagus forms and James sprinted toward the Whomping Willow with Peter on his back.

Peter pressed the knot, causing the tree to freeze.

"You stay here," said James as he transformed back.

James crawled through the entrance and ran through the tunnel until he turned the corner and saw a dark figure.  
"Snape!" he called out with relief. _Thank heavens he was still okay._

_--- _

Severus had just entered the tunnel and was walking through it when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Snape!" James called.

"Potter," Severus spat as James came up behind him.

"Snape, you have to get out of here," said James, grabbing his arm.

Severus snatched his arm away with disgust. "I came here for a reason and I don't plan to leave until I find it."

"You don't understand! Remus, he's-he's," James hesitated.

"Yes?"

"We have to leave, it's dangerous in here!"

Severus sneered and had turned to go further into the tunnel when a large figure came around the corner.

Severus froze as he saw the figure coming towards them.

"Come on!" James yelled and dragged him towards the entrance, pulling him out of his trance.

They ran back through the tunnel as Remus started towards them. James stopped in horror as Severus stumbled and fell, with Remus the werewolf quickly advancing on him.

"Snape!" James ran back towards Snape who had frozen in terror once again.

James quickly helped him up and they ran towards the end of the tunnel until they finally reached the entrance and fell through.

---

"It's alright, Sirius. James went to stop him," Gwen muttered soothingly.

Sirius slumped against her. "What if he's not alright? What if Remus has already attacked Snape? Or what if something happens to James? It would be all my fault…"

Gwen gently brushed his hair to the side and soothingly kissed his forehead.  
"Shh, it's okay. It's not your fault; you didn't think something like this would happen. And if worse comes to worst, James is an Animagus," Gwen said assuringly.

After several minutes which felt like a lifetime to the pair, they finally saw the Whomping Willow still and two figures come out of it.

"It's okay now, Sirius," said Gwen with relief. "Everything's fine now."

* * *

**November 26, 1976 Friday, 10:36 PM**

It was nearing the end of November and the sixth year Slytherin trio, Gwen, Narcissa, and Aquila, sat in their common room discussing their plans for the upcoming Christmas break.  
There would be the usual pure-blood event, a ball held at Malfoy Manor this time, around Christmas. However, this ball was different because they were finally of age to attend the ball this year.

"Our first ball! I can't wait 'til break!"

The trio began to giggle as they talked about the ball and possible escorts.

"Of course Evan and I are going together," said Aquila, referring to a fellow sixth year Slytherin whom she had been dating since fifth year.

"You and my cousin make such a cute couple," Narcissa said with delight.

"Yes, and of course Evan resembles your ideal," Gwen added slyly.

When they were younger, before they had started at Hogwarts, the trio had discussed the 'ideal man' they would marry when they were 'grown up'.

**[Flashback**

"I like tall, dark, and handsome. With dark eyes and _black_ hair," Narcissa said with a giggle.  
"I wish _I_ had black hair," she said wistfully as she eyed Gwen's raven hair and distastefully looked down at her own golden locks, "I'm the only Black with blond hair."

"My ideal has black hair too but with grey-ish eyes," Gwen said dreamily, "Grey eyes are so alluring."  
"He'll be lots of fun to spend time with and he would be very brave. Even if he was afraid of something, he wouldn't let it stop him from doing what he wants to do," she added, unconsciously describing Sirius to the very detail.

"My ideal is brave too," Aquila said and added disdainfully, "I don't like boys who cry. My father said that boys should never cry, under any circumstances."  
"My ideal would have blond or _light_ brown hair and pale eyes. I don't like dark hair and eyes," she said defiantly.

"Why not?" Gwen demanded in a slightly hurt tone.

"Oh, dark hair is pretty on girls," Aquila assured her, "but I think men with dark hair and eyes look a bit frightening."

**[End of flashback**

Aquila smiled, also recalling the memory.  
"Yes, he does, doesn't he? Evan matches my ideal _perfectly_," Aquila said blissfully. "In fact, he couldn't have resembled it more perfectly if he had been made to order.  
"We_must_ be a match made in Heaven," she added dreamily.

"Who are you going with, Narcissa?" asked Gwen.

"Everett asked me," she replied with a blush, referring to Everett Wilkes, the Slytherin Quidditch team Captain.

"I knew you guys liked each other!" Gwen and Aquila exclaimed with glee.

"What about you, Gwen?" Narcissa abruptly inquired, turning to her.

"I don't have a date yet," Gwen replied.

Both Narcissa and Aquila looked at her disbelievingly.

"How did that happen? You're the Slytherin _princess,_" Aquila said matter-of-factly and continued suspiciously, "Somebody's_bound_ to ask you."

"Well, Rabastan and some other guys did ask me," she admitted, "but I think I'll just go with Sirius."

"You can't go with Sirius," Narcissa said scandalously, "he's your_brother_. You can't go to these sorts of events with your brother."

"You should know better, we aren't children anymore, Gwen," Aquila reprimanded, "People might get the wrong idea. I wouldn't _dream_ of going with Lucius."

"I guess I'll just go with Rabastan then," Gwen said dejectedly.

"I knew Rabastan was going to ask you; he's liked you for ages," said Narcissa with a beam, mollified by her decision.

"Yes," Gwen replied nonchalantly.

"Along with ninety percent of the school's male population. How come you get all the popularity?" Aquila demanded with mock jealousy.

"And you always turn them down. Is it because you're secretly in love with somebody else? Perhaps a forbidden love?" Narcissa inquired with a mischievous grin.

"Oh yes, I'm secretly in love with Professor Dumbledore. Oh the scandal! What will Mother and Dad say!" Gwen said dramatically, with a laugh, as she sighed inwardly.

Yes, what _would_ Mother and Dad say if they found out about her 'secret love'?  
_Of course_ it wasn't Dumbledore, though they would be just as angry and scandalized as if it _were_ him if they found out who she was in love with.

Why out of all the guys, had she fallen in love with Sirius who was supposedly her 'twin brother'? Why Sirius, the only one she would never be able to have, the one to whom she could never confess her feelings?

She couldn't help but think that that was the way fate was for her. Harsh and cruel…

* * *

**December 9, 1976 Friday, 8:20 AM**

Sirius had just sat down to breakfast when he saw his mother's owl, Storm, flying towards him.  
"Great. Another bloody letter from dear old Mother, telling me how much of a disgrace I am," he said sarcastically.

Sirius opened the letter which informed him that there would be another pure-blood gathering which he was expected to attend with a 'proper', meaning pure-blood, escort.

"Great. Even better; another bloody gathering where I get to enjoy hours of hearing how 'pure-bloods are superior to the rest'," Sirius said with false enthusiasm.

"You'll live. I'm sure it won't be that bad," James said sympathetically.

"That_**bad**_?" he scoffed.  
"You should know better, Prongs. It'll be horrible. Fancy spending a few hours in the Slytherin Common Room? This is ten times worse. Absolute nightmare I tell you." Sirius shuddered, causing the others to laugh.

Sirius continued to moan for a few more minutes before he suddenly cast a sharp glance at James.  
"Wait a minute. What do you mean 'you're _sure_ it won't be that bad?' You're not going?" he said with disbelief.

"Erm-" James quickly shoved a large pile of bacon and eggs into his mouth.

"_Prongs_!" Sirius whined. He quickly turned to Remus.  
"Moony?" he asked hopefully.

"Full moon," Remus said quickly.

Sirius sighed then turned to Peter, who had been watching the exchange with amusement, with a gleam in his dark eyes.

"No."

"Aw, come on, Wormtail," Sirius whined. "_Please_?"

"Sirius, I'm _Muggleborn_," Peter said slowly as if speaking to a child.

"I'm sure the others won't mind…_**too**_ much," said Sirius.

"Uh huh. And I'm sure they won't hex me into oblivion as soon as I dare to set foot in their presence?" Peter said dryly.

"Of course not," Sirius said enthusiastically.

"No."

Sirius sighed then rounded on James who had finished his bacon and eggs.

"Why aren't _**you**_ coming, Prongs?" he demanded.

"We're going to visit Chris in Norway," James said happily.

"Bastard," Sirius muttered sullenly.

"Ahh! My virgin ears!" Peter yelped jokingly.

Sirius continued to glare as the others laughed then gave in.

"Tell Chris 'Happy Christmas' from me," Sirius told James grudgingly.

"Yeah, sure. So what are you going to do about the escort part?" James asked slyly.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just ask Gwen or something. Mother can't say anything since all she said was that the girl had to be a pure-blood," Sirius replied smugly.

"But what if Gwen actually wants to go with a date? And anyways, she's so popular with the Slytherins. Somebody's bound to have asked her already," Peter commented, unconsciously echoing Aquila's previous words.

"Thanks for the encouragement, Wormtail," Sirius said sarcastically, "but yes I agree."  
"That girl is too bloody popular for her own good. It takes so much time to keep the guys away from her," he complained.

Considered the prettiest girl in their year or perhaps even their school, and rightfully so with her doe-shaped violet eyes, milky fair complexion, and sleek raven hair, Gwen was one of the most sought after girls in the school.  
Being a pure-blooded Slytherin of a good lineage, she also had many admirers amongst the many Slytherins who refused to even _**look**_ at girls who weren't pure-blood.

"Do I sense jealousy?" James teased.

"Yes, I'm so jealous that Gwen has more bloody annoying fans than I do," Sirius said sarcastically.

"I think Prongs meant that you were jealous of the guys themselves," Remus said dryly, rolling his eyes, "not the attention she's getting from them, Padfoot."

"What's to be jealous of?" Sirius snorted.  
"Besides, it's not like as if anyone dares to bother her anymore," Sirius added with a slight grin.

He amusedly thought of what had happened last year, when some prat had begun to stalk her. To make a long story short, both the Marauders and Snape's gang, the nickname he had dubbed the sixth year Slytherins boys, had gone after him and now that they were done with him, he was probably traumatized for life. Of course that was nothing compared to what Gwen had done to him.  
For all that she seemed so sweet and kind, Gwen could be very dangerous if provoked. Not that she used violent means or anything of the sort.

Anyhow, no guy, _**or**_ girl for that matter, was likely to risk getting on the wrong side of Gwen anytime soon after that incident.

_That__ git__ deserved it. Acting like some crazy stalker, _Sirius thought, growing angry at the thought of him.

It was probably the only thing he and Snape had ever agreed on.

"Well, I better go ask her before some Slytherin asks her," Sirius said as he saw Gwen getting up from the Slytherin table.

To his annoyance, some Slytherin seventh year approached her, before he could, and asked her.

_NO! I'll kill him if he takes her!!_ Sirius thought indignantly when to his great relief, she rejected him. But then as she turned away she said, "I already have a date."

Sirius stood rooted to the spot as he watched Gwen walk out of the Great Hall with Aquila and Narcissa.  
Peter was right. Of course she would want a date. And he couldn't be that for her since she only knew him as her brother. Somehow, that thought depressed him.

_If only_… he thought sadly before he headed over to the Marauders and told them about Gwen and her unknown escort.

"I wonder who she's going with," Sirius said angrily.

"Prongs was right. You _**do**_ sound jealous," Peter said while James and Remus, who knew better than to provoke Sirius when he got angry, remained silent.

"What are you trying to imply?" Sirius snapped, before storming off to their Potions class.

* * *

**December 9, 1976 Friday, 9:30 AM**

Gwen watched Sirius with concern and wondered what had provoked him. He had been looking extremely annoyed and he hadn't spoken much, just glaring into the potion they were making.

"Stop it, Sirius! The potion isn't our dear mother for Merlin's sake," Gwen teased then said indignantly, "It's because of Mother, isn't it?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Sirius assured her then asked abruptly, "So who are you going to the ball with?"

"No one so far," said Gwen.

"Then how come you told that seventh year that you already have a date?" Sirius demanded.

"Oh, you mean after breakfast? I just said that to keep him away." She snorted. "I have better taste than _that_."

"Great! Why don't we go together?" Sirius said excitedly.

Gwen paused for a long moment before she said, "Oh, Sirius, I can't go to these sorts of events with you. I talked to Aquila and Narcissa about it and they think it would be totally inappropriate, and I agree."

"Oh, okay," said Sirius, crestfallen.  
_Why was he feeling so disappointed? He knew it was the truth; it was totally natural that it would be inappropriate. But somehow, it hurt to think of it in those terms.  
He wished that it wasn't inappropriate. He wished that he could take her to the ball. He wished…what __**did**__ he wish? _

"Besides, I did tell you I have good taste," Gwen teased.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Sirius asked sullenly.

"I guess I'll go with Rabastan if he doesn't have a date yet," Gwen replied.

"Really? He better not try anything—" Sirius said, with a passion that arose from more than just protectiveness and worry.

"Sirius, you know that Rabastan has always been nothing but good to me. Almost like you, though no one can compare to you of course," she added sadly, then with false enthusiasm said, "Who do you plan to ask?"

"I don't really know anyone," Sirius replied gloomily.  
"Well, there's this new girl in my House named Morgan Dolohov. Why don't I set you up with her?" Gwen said with a forced cheery smile.

"Alright, since nobody else would take me," Sirius said with a slightly bitter tone.

Luckily for Gwen, Sirius was too deep in his own misery to notice her cringe visibly.  
Sirius was always so _oblivious_ to her. Sometimes when it became too hard, she would tell her how she felt; that she loved him. But he never seemed to grasp the double meaning in her confession and would simply reply that he loved her too, teasingly adding that she was his favorite _twin_.

Of course it was better that he did not know since he would discover that they weren't really twins.

Yet it pained and frustrated her to no end.

'

"Sirius, don't you know that at least half the girls in Hogwarts are in love with you?" Gwen asked half amused and half saddened, mistaking his bitterness.

"Yes, but at home every pure-blood hates me," he said with a hint of sadness.

"Sirius, I love you," she said putting a hand on his shoulder.  
"In fact, if you weren't my brother, I would be in love with you too," she grinned, skillfully masking her sadness.

"Would you really?" he said with a slightly wistful smile though why he felt that way, he wouldn't be able to explain if his life depended on it.  
Somehow, the 'if you weren't my brother' made him feel more depressed than anything.

"So who are you going to ask?" Peter asked as they headed towards Gryffindor Tower, oblivious to the warning looks that James and Remus were sending him.

"Gwen said she'll set me up with one of her new Housemate Morgan something or another," Sirius said glumly.

"Wow, that pretty new girl in Slytherin? How did you get so lucky?" Peter said, his eyes widening with envy.

"I don't really care," Sirius said with a shrug.

"You_never_ care about girls," Peter complained jealously then said bluntly, "You _must_ be gay."

"What? You guys always tease him about that too," Peter whined when both James and Remus glared at him.

"Padfoot just hasn't found the right girl yet. Who knows? She might be _right under his nose_," James said casually.  
Only James knew the whole truth, or what they thought was the whole truth, and understood what Sirius himself did not know or perhaps, did not allow himself to acknowledge.

_Peter is right; I never __**do**__ care about girls,_ Sirius thought worriedly.  
For several years now, Sirius had his own 'fan club' as the other Marauders had dubbed. Though Sirius had dated many girls and many of the 'fan girls' _were_ very attractive and were very popular themselves, he had never been truly interested in any of them.

Recently the Marauders, including even Gwen, had taken to teasingly imply that he was gay and though he didn't let on, he was starting to worry that there _might_ be truth to their statement.  
James had been after Lily Evans for several years now and Remus had confessed that he liked Adrianne. As for Peter, well _he_ liked anyone female; there was no doubt about _his_ preference. Sirius however had dozens of girls practically throwing themselves at his feet but he had yet to have an interest in any of them nor care for any of them in any way.

In fact, the _only_ girl he had ever cared for in any way was Gwen which, of course, didn't count.

* * *

(A/N: Please don't send me any flames calling me a idiot for not knowing that Peter couldn't be Muggle-born. Yes, I am in fact aware that Peter is a Death Eater :D I just thought it would be interesting if he was. On that note...)

* * *


	10. Siriusly in Love

**Chapter 8: Siriusly in Love**

**December 24, 1976 Friday, 6:15 PM**

It was the day of the winter ball and Sirius was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace waiting for Gwen.

"How long does it _take_ to get ready for a bloody ball? She's been preparing for over two hours," he complained with a sigh.

"Have some patience. It takes time for a lady to properly prepare herself," Walburga snapped.  
"Though I suppose only a gentleman would know _that_," she added with a sniff.

"Walburga," Orion said warningly, then turned to Sirius.  
"The result is always worth the wait, you'll see," he told him.

"Well, you won't need to wait any longer. Here she comes," said Walburga.

Sirius got up as Gwen came into the room and abruptly stopped when he saw her.  
_Wow,_he thought, staring speechlessly.

"My little girl's all grown up now," Walburga said, slightly teary-eyed and cooed, "Doesn't she look like an angel?"

Gwen was wearing violet dress robes which perfectly complemented her bright violet eyes, and had twisted her sleek, waist-length raven hair into a elegant French braid.

"Mother!" Gwen protested with a blush, her pale cheeks turning rosy.

"Yeah…" Sirius agreed, trancelike, making her blush even more.

Everyone laughed as Snuffles also barked in agreement.  
Everyone had consented to keeping the puppy and they had named him Snuffles. Though Snuffles was loved by everyone in the family and loved all of them in return, he was really Sirius' puppy and loved Sirius the most. Of course it was only natural that it should be so, due to the clear (to the Marauders at least) affinity between them.

Orion smiled at Gwen in agreement while he nodded proudly at Sirius. "Our children are growing up. It won't be long before the two of you have your own family," he said musingly.

Gwen turned pink. "Dad, there's still a long way to go before _that_ happens," she said.

"Nonsense. I was barely out of school before your father and I got married," said Walburga.

Sirius blanched. "I plan to enjoy my bachelorhood before I settle down. If I ever do," he added.

Orion patted him on the back. "You'll see. When the time comes, you wouldn't be able to get to the alter fast enough," he said.  
"By the way, your dress robes look splendid. Whoever helped you pick them out has excellent taste," he added.

"Yes, Dad. You have great taste," said Gwen, laughing.

Even Walburga managed a smile. "Like father, like son," she said, looking fondly at them both for a moment.

"Well, come on Son. We should get going," said Orion, reaching for the floo powder.  
As he watched Sirius and Gwen, Orion felt a fierce pride yet a hint of sadness at the same moment. It was nearly incomprehensible that his eldest two children, his pride and joy, were now of age to attend the annual pure-blood Balls.  
It seemed like just yesterday that he had brought Gwen from the hospital. Just yesterday that his best friends had been killed, and he and Walburga had brought Sirius back home. Yet so many years had passed since then. It was now nearly time to reveal the secret he had been keeping for so long.

Soon. It had to be soon, for as long as he kept his secret, Sirius and Gwen would be kept apart, and that would not do.

"Ladies first."

After Gwen and Walburga had gone through, Sirius stepped up to the fireplace for his own turn.  
As soon as he had fallen out of the fireplace, he saw Gwen being greeted by Narcissa and Aquila and Sirius rolled his eyes as the three girls began to prattle excitedly.

"I_love_ your hair! Your dress robes look perfect with your eyes!" Sirius mimicked in a high pitched voice.

The girls laughed and turned on him.

"Why, you look perfectly dashing today, cousin," Narcissa teased.

"And your robes bring out the blue in your eyes," said Gwen, smiling widely.

"She's right. Your eyes _do_ look blue today," said Aquila, looking carefully at him. "Interesting..."

"Stop it," Sirius protested, swatting at her arm, "you're embarrassing me."

"Are you flirting with my girlfriend, Sirius?" a drawling voice said teasingly from the doorway.

They looked to the doorway to see Evan and Rabastan at the entrance.

"Evan!" Sirius greeted him with a smile.  
They had been friends since before Hogwarts despite the fact that they lived in different regions since they were both cousins of Narcissa and had become acquainted through her.

Aquila immediately headed to Evan and hooked her arm through his. "Of course not. You know there's only you for me," she said sweetly.

Sirius didn't miss the brief look of pain that flitted across his face and cast him a curious look but Evan merely shrugged and turned to Aquila.

To Sirius' displeasure, Rabastan immediately headed for Gwen and presented her with a bouquet of red roses.

"That's so sweet!" said Aquila.

She turned to Evan. "Why can't you do something sweet like that?" she teased.

"All you lovebirds are making me sick," Narcissa said teasingly, then grabbed unto Sirius' arm and pulled him from the room after her. "Let's go find our own dates, Sirius. It's obvious we're not wanted _here_."

The group headed to the dining hall where dinner was being served. Gwen joined Sirius at the entrance and beckoned to a girl sitting at the end of the room.

The girl had chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, and was wearing white dress robes. Sirius' eyes widened as he saw her. Surely she wasn't-?

"Sirius, this is Morgan Dolohov," Gwen introduced her. "Morgan, this is my brother, Sirius."  
Sirius barely suppressed a sigh of disappointment. Of course it wasn't her. He really had to stop thinking that every girl with brown hair and hazel eyes might be his lost sister.

After greeting each other, they headed to the table reserved for them and sat down. The table mainly consisted of the sixth and seventh year Slytherin students and Sirius looked uneasily around the table at the Slytherins. The majority of them were either glaring at him or simply ignoring him, with the exception of Lucius, who smiled awkwardly at him.

_It really was a pity,_ thought Sirius.  
He and Lucius had been best friends before Hogwarts but were now barely acquaintances who exchanged greetings. And perhaps the saddest part of it all was that it wasn't Lucius' actual companionship but the_fact_ that they had been friends that he missed.  
Because it was an indication of how much had changed, at least for Sirius.

_What would have happened if I had been sorted into Slytherin like I had wanted?_ Sirius wondered.

Would he hate all Gryffindors and Muggle-borns? Even before he had enrolled into Hogwarts, a part of him had always questioned his parents' ideology. But if he been sorted into Slytherin, would he eventually have accepted it the way Lucius, Rabastan, Magus, and so many of his other childhood friends had?

If so, would it have been James instead of Lucius that Sirius estranged? And, horror of all horrors, would the Marauders have even existed without him? As much as he liked to believe that he was a very significant member of the Marauders, he couldn't bear to think that the Marauders might not have existed.  
And Gwen, of course. Because had Sirius not been sorted into Gryffindor, Gwen would never have learned to disregard their parents' principles and accept Gryffindors and Muggle-borns alike.

Sirius finally realized how wise the sorting hat had been in sorting him into Gryffindor. Deep down, he would have been miserable in Slytherin; forced to accept the very beliefs that he questioned. Yes, his destiny definitely lied with Gryffindor.

Sirius smiled politely at his escort who, he noticed unnervingly, had been staring intently at him since the moment they had been introduced. Furthermore, a seventh year Slytherin girl took the other seat beside him before Gwen could, and Rabastan led her to the only available spot which was at the other end of the table.

Gwen quickly caught the look of panic on Sirius' face and began to walk back to him.

"Can we switch places, Gamp?" Gwen said to the seventh year girl, Sophia Gamp.

"And if I refuse?" the girl snapped, glaring towards the direction Gwen indicated.

Gwen smirked. "Are you sure you want to?" she said silkily.

"What are you going to do to me, Black? Just because you're a Black you think you can get everything? Always using your name to manipulate others," Sophia said derisively. "You're just talk, nothing more."

Several rose indignantly at her words but Gwen gave them a pointed glare and they sat back down.

"It's okay," Gwen said, then turned back to Sophia.  
"So I'm just talk, am I?" she said and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" Sophia demanded, with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Your face," Gwen replied smugly.

Before she could reply, laughter erupted in bursts from around the table and Gamp quickly took out a mirror.  
"What have you done to my face!" she shrieked. Her eyes and nose had swollen and turned red and dozens of volcano sized pimples were scattered across her face. Her date for the evening, Joel Hyde, took one look at her and backed away.

"I haven't done anything. See? No wand," Gwen lifted her hands with a smirk.

She burst into tears and Gwen sighed. "It's nothing magic can't fix," she said irritably.  
Gwen quickly waved her hand and her face returned to normal.

"You can do wandless magic," Gamp said, half sullenly, half awed.

Gwen shrugged. "That's just basic stuff."  
She smiled wickedly. "Care to see more?"

Sophia quickly stood up and dragged Hyde after her. "Alright, you can sit next to your precious brother," she said sullenly.

Sirius winked at Gwen as she took the seat beside him and to his pleasure and gratitude, she tightly held his hand throughout the meal to ease him.

"Oh! Sorry," Gwen said, letting go of his hand, as she saw that he was eating a bit awkwardly with his left hand.  
Sirius quickly grabbed unto her hand and firmly held on.

Gwen smiled and picked up a bit of beef and potato with her fork then brought it to his mouth. "Here, try this."

Sirius grinned as Gwen forked the beef and potato into his mouth. They continued to eat as Gwen alternatively fed herself and then him.

They had been eating in this manner for several minutes when they saw that majority of the table had stopped eating and were focusing on the two of them with looks ranging between bemusement and disgust on their faces.  
Even Lucius, who had been sending jealous glares at Wilkes the entire duration of the meal, was now focused on them and both Rabastan and Morgan were looking irritated.

"Um…he hurt his hand," Gwen said awkwardly.

After everyone had returned to their food they ate tensely until the meal finally ended, to both Sirius and Gwen's relief.

After the table had been cleared, the music started and Sirius grimaced slightly as he saw Rabastan lead Gwen unto the ball room floor.

"Come on, let's go," Sirius muttered as he led Morgan to a spot right next to where Rabastan and Gwen were dancing.

---

Several songs later, Sirius tapped Rabastan on the shoulder.  
"Why don't we switch partners for a while, Lestrange?" he drawled.

Rabastan looked up and glared, putting his arm protectively around Gwen until he realized that it was Sirius.  
"Fine," he shrugged.

"I'll be right back," Gwen told Rabastan with a smile.

Rabastan grinned back. "Alright then."

Sirius snickered and muttered under his breath, "If I return you, that is."

"You just couldn't resist me, could you?" Gwen teased as she put her arms around him.

"Yes, I couldn't," Sirius said softly and kissed her cheek.

Sirius looked down at Gwen and smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling strangely detached and content.

As Sirius felt the emotion overcome him, he also felt a sense of confusion.  
_What is this peculiar emotion?_ he wondered. All he knew was that it was an emotion that only Gwen appeared to be capable of igniting; only she seemed to be capable of making him feeling this particular emotion.

This feeling of pure bliss and contentment.

_If only this song could last forever…_

Sirius sighed as the song ended as all songs did.

"Let's take a walk," Gwen suggested as she led him outside.

Outside Gwen and Sirius sat down on the bench in front of the fountain and watched the water flow into the fountain.  
After about ten minutes Sirius became to shiver slightly, which came as no surprise since the water in the fountain was starting to freeze over. Gwen immediately placed her hand on his arm, and his shivering stopped almost instantly.

Gwen's power was a secret that only she and Sirius knew of. She had found that she could control the temperature of an object, or even a person as she just had with Sirius, simply by touch. Using her power, Gwen could both freeze entire lakes and dry up said lake. In the beginning, it had been quite troublesome since she would accidentally make items burst into flames or turn into ice sculptures, but through years of practice she had learned to control her powers. However, it was limited in that without physical contact, her power was completely useless.

"I wish we could have a White Christmas," Gwen said dreamily.

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Green Christmases are so bland," he said with disappointment.

Gwen looked up as a single flake landed on her robes. "It's snowing!" she said delightedly.

"Looks like we might have a white Christmas after all," Sirius said contentedly.

"Sirius, did you know that each and every snowflake has a different design? Every snowflake has its own uniqueness, just like people. If you think about it, it's so…_**amazing**_how that can be when there are an _endless_number of snowflakes," Gwen said dreamily.

"Do they? That _is_ amazing," Sirius agreed then said pensively, "but you know…it's always the _little_ things about nature, the things we don't even give a second thought, which are amazing."

That was one of the things she loved about him. He didn't laugh at her no matter how silly or ridiculous she sounded. He understood her. They understood _each other_.

As they sat by the fountain, Gwen smiled _his_ smile at him; that soft smile she smiled at him when it was just the two of them. It was the very smile that always made him feel as elated and somehow _grateful_ as he imagined he would feel if he had just been handed the quidditch cup.

And it was as Sirius smiled back at her that he first realized it, and he finally understood.

At that moment everything became crystal clear.

He understood why he always felt the need to protect her at all costs, even his own life. Why he would bear all sorts of pain, _anything_, uncomplainingly for _**her**_.  
How when he was at his worst, either depressed or in fury, only she could calm him; make him smile again.

And most of all, why no other girl could interest him. He had always felt it _was_ partly because of Gwen, but merely that he had come to expect too high of a standard comparing girls to her.

**[Flashback**

"How can you find her attractive when we have Gwen for a sister? I think_she_ can't even _**compare**_ to Gwen," Sirius said, not condescendingly but with obvious astonishment.

"Do you?" Regulus, who had been going on again about his new girlfriend Jasmine Parkinson, said with surprise.  
"I suppose Gwen _is_ quite a beauty," Regulus agreed reflectively then shrugged nonchalantly, "I never really noticed."

"How can you not notice?" Sirius asked, dumbfounded, and said with a hint of pride, "Gwen's easily the best looking girl in Hogwarts with her rare eye color and complexion. Nobody even comes _close_."  
"Blue and green eyes _are_ quite pretty but are extremely common and only the Malfoys come _close_ to her complexion, but they're too pale."

"I don't know...I think Aquila is quite attractive. Easily the best looking girl in Hogwarts," Regulus countered.

"The best? _Aquila Malfoy_ better looking than_ Gwen?_" Sirius said with disbelief then grinned. "Aw, does Reggie _like_ Aquila?"

"Of course not!" Regulus said, turning red at the suggestion.  
"Anyway, about Gwen?" he said hastily.

"Hm…where was I? Oh right. Anyway, as I was saying no one can surpass her in beauty and she's also brighter then most of the Ravenclaws. And of course Gwen's the only reason Slytherin has been winning the Quidditch cup these years."

Regulus looked at him for a long moment then burst out laughing.

"And you say I like Aquila just for saying she's pretty," Regulus snickered. "Do you realize that you sound exactly the way your friend Potter does when he's talking about that Evans girl?"  
"I suppose I sounded like that too when I was talking about Jasmine," he added, slightly embarrassed.

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you were talking about your girlfriend instead of our sister." Regulus snorted.

**[End of flashback**

Sirius knew one thing for sure. He definitely wasn't gay.

"I love you," he said softly, yet just loud enough for her to hear.

"I love you too," Gwen smiled.

And for the first time, Sirius understood the pain that Gwen had had to endure for years.

---

It was several hours later that they left the bustling excitement at Malfoy Manor, where the snow was now falling heavily, to return to Grimmauld Place in high spirits.

Neither Sirius nor Gwen noticed that the sky was remarkably clear without a snowflake in sight. However Regulus, who had been flying, _did_ notice when several minutes later the snow began to fall as heavily as it had been at Malfoy manor.

"How strange. It was supposed to be clear tonight. And the temperature fell about twenty degrees in less than five minutes," he grumbled with a slight shiver as he grudgingly headed indoors.

* * *


	11. Tears of Blood

**Chapter 9: Tears of Blood**

**January 19, 1977 Wednesday, 7:45 PM**

It was about a month after the ball and Sirius and Gwen were walking out from the Great Hall after dinner.

"Gwen, can I ask you something?" Sirius said abruptly.

"Of course," Gwen replied.

"Is it true that you're going out with Lestrange?" asked Sirius hoping, _praying_, that it was merely a misunderstanding.

"Yes, I am," Gwen confirmed, crushing his hope.

"Why him? Why Lestrange?" Sirius demanded. _Why not me?_

Gwen turned to him and glared fiercely at him. "I like him, Sirius! How long are you going to try to stop me from dating? I like him! Why can't you understand that?" she said angrily before storming away.

"Because I _like_ you," Sirius said softly as he watched her retreating back, "Why can't you understand _that_?

---

Gwen sighed as she walked towards the Slytherin common room.  
Why was Sirius always so overprotective? It made it so much more difficult for her to get over him because it made her hope, deep down, that perhaps he loved her too.

But she knew better. Sirius didn't even _know_ that he was adopted. And it was times like these that made her want to tell him everything.

---

Sirius stepped back into the Great Hall and scanned the Slytherin table as he walked towards it.

"Lestrange, can we step outside for a moment?" Sirius said as he spotted Rabastan amongst the Slytherins.

Rabastan nodded and followed him out to the empty entrance hall.

"Black," Rabastan greeted him. "What did you want to see me about?"

"Gwen mentioned that you're going out."

"Yes, we are," Rabastan nodded, looking pleased.

Sirius immediately grabbed him by the neck of his robes.

"What are you doing, Sirius?" Rabastan sputtered with surprise.

"I came to warn you," Sirius growled, "that if you make Gwen shed so much as a single _tear_, I'll make _you_ shed _**blood**_."  
"That's a promise," he said, roughly releasing him before storming off.

* * *

**April 23, 1977 Saturday, 5:24 PM**

Sirius was sitting under the Willow tree with the Marauders when Paul Irving, his team Keeper, approached them.

"Sirius, I-uh," Paul hesitated.

"What is it, Paul?" Sirius prompted.

"Diana seems to be a bit depressed lately and I thought that you might want to know. Diana's refusing to say what's wrong and I thought she might tell you," Paul said in a rush.

Sirius nodded. He had noticed himself that there had been a change in Diana since she had returned from Easter break and had been concerned.  
"Of course. Where is she?" he asked.

"She's at the quidditch pitch," Paul replied.

"Alright, thanks Paul," said Sirius as he headed to the quidditch pitch.

Sirius searched the pitch until he saw Diana sitting at the top of the stands by herself. Diana looked up as Sirius climbed the stands towards her.

Diana smiled at Sirius as he sat next to her.  
"Why didn't you tell me you're my brother?" she said after a long silence.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?" said Sirius.

"It's okay. I know," Diana said assuringly.

"And they told _us_ not to tell you," Sirius growled.

"Mum and Dad didn't tell me. I overheard Granddad and Grandma speaking about it," Diana said quietly.

"They told you about me?" Sirius asked with puzzlement. He hadn't realized that the Woods knew of him.

"No, they just mentioned that I had older siblings. I just figured that you must be one of them since you've always took care of me ever since I came to Hogwarts," Diana explained.  
"Is James my brother too?" she asked after a pause.

"If he was, that would mean he's my twin. Do we look like twins?" Sirius laughed.

"A bit." She shrugged.

"Nah, James is our cousin," said Sirius. "But we do have another brother. And a sister. Chris and Karen. Chris goes to Durmstrang and Karen…well I don't know what happened to her. She…disappeared. Anyway, I've told Chris all about you. Maybe you can come with me next time I go visit him."

"Really? I would like that," Diana smiled then sighed.  
"All this time, I had older brothers and a sister and I didn't even know. And I doubt Mum and Dad would've ever told me if I hadn't found out. Why did they hide it from me?" she added angrily.

"I didn't understand either, at first. But now I understand why they did that. They didn't want you to ever have to doubt their love for you," said Sirius.

"Is that how you feel with your Mum? Especially since she always calls you a bloodtraitor?" Diana asked sadly.  
"Why did she even bother to adopt you if she's not prepared to love you unconditionally?" she said resentfully.

Sirius sighed. "Who knows?"  
"Don't go thinking I'm miserable or anything though. Dad's twice as good to me, to make up for Mother, I think. And of course there's Gwen and Regulus."

"Of course, how could I forget your twin? You guys are inseparable," Diana laughed.  
"Though you two aren't really twins after all, are you?" she added afterthought.

"Yes, we aren't," Sirius replied.

"Well, if that isn't a bit ironic," said Diana. "When I first met you two I thought that you were unmistakeably twins. Turns out you aren't twins at all."

"Yeah, I've always found that a bit funny myself," Sirius laughed.

As they sat in the stands, neither noticed that they were being watched.

Morgan Dolohov smirked as she watched Sirius Black and Diana Davison from a distance. She quickly turned around as footsteps approached from behind.

"Regulus," she said, putting on a smile.

"What are you doing here, Morgan? I've been looking everywhere for you," said Regulus.

"Nothing, just going for a walk," Morgan said smoothly.

"What are you watching?" Regulus asked, then looked at the two figures sitting in the stands.  
"Isn't that Sirius?" he asked. "Who's the kid with him?"

Morgan shrugged. "I was going to walk through the field when I saw your brother comforting his little friend."

"Of course. You wouldn't know it with how immature he is at times, but he's great at things like that," Regulus said fondly.

Morgan smiled. "Is he?"

"Yes," Regulus replied with a smile but inwardly shuddered. Though Morgan had been smiling, for a moment there, he could have sworn that he had seen something in her eyes. Something that, he instinctively felt, wasn't good.

_Nah, I'm just imagining things. Why would she hate Sirius?_ Regulus assured himself. Sure, she detested Gryffindors and Muggleborns but never had he seen her direct such malice towards them as he thought he had just seen. Yes, he had _definitely_ been imagining things.

* * *

**May, 5, 1977 Thursday, 8:10 AM**

Sirius had just started on his breakfast when the mail arrived and a grey owl landed in front of him.

A second later, another owl landed in front of James and they opened their letters to find identical cards which contained elegant writing.

Sirius opened his card and read,

_To: Gwen, Regulus, and Sirius Black,_

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of_

_Christopher Davison and Kara Elric,_

_to be held on: Sunday, July 3, 1997 at 6:30 PM._

_Please send your reply ASAP by owl._

James looked up from his own card with a grin. "Aw, our Chris is all grown up now."

"Doesn't his fiancé's name seem really familiar?" Sirius muttered distractedly.

James rolled his eyes. "Of course it does, Chris talks about her half the time in his letters."

Sirius impatiently shook his head. "No, it's something else."

He reached into the envelope which also contained a letter and a picture. The picture showed Chris with a young woman who was obviously his fiancé.  
"Well, Chris has certainly grown into his looks. He looks almost as handsome as I do," he said cockily.

James snorted but refrained from commenting and merely scrutinized the picture. Though both he and his cousin had jet black hair and hazel eyes, their similarity didn't go beyond colouring. While James' hair was ceaselessly messy, Chris' was sleek and neat and there were vast differences in the shapes of their eyes.

Sirius looked over to his fiancé then quickly motioned to James.  
"I knew her name sounded familiar!" he said triumphly and pointed to her. "Look at her!"

James scrutinized the picture then looked back at Sirius with bemusement. "Um…what about her?"

She was certainly striking enough with her coppery-red curls and shining violet eyes but there was nothing about her that struck him as particularly familiar.

"Are you thick? How many people do you know who have eyes like hers?" Sirius said impatiently.

"Of course! Gwen!" James exclaimed.  
"What does she have to do with Gwen?" he asked after a pause.

"Her surname is Elric," Sirius explained. "When we were younger, Gwen asked Dad why her eyes were so 'weird'," he smiled slightly at the memory, "and he explained that it's because one of his relatives was a Elric."

"Elric?" James repeated.

"Yes, the Elrics are a old Norwegian pureblood family most renowned for their violet eyes. Apparently, their eyes run in the family," said Sirius.

He abruptly stood and headed to the Slytherin table. "I have to go tell Gwen and Regulus about the wedding," he called over his shoulder.

Gwen and Regulus were sitting side by side at the table and were whispering quietly to each other, oblivious to their friends who were sitting around them. Sirius jumped in between the two, pushing them apart and halting their conversation, and put a around each of them.

"Talking about me behind my back again, are we?" Sirius grinned.

"Of course. What else would we discuss in the Great Hall? We were just saying how much of a prat you are," Regulus said mock-seriously.

"Regulus! I _told_ you not to tell him," Gwen joked in a loud whisper.

Regulus grinned then turned to Sirius. "So is there something you have to tell us?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. Do you two remember Chris?" Sirius asked.

"Chris?" Gwen and Regulus asked at the same time.

"Yes, Chris Davison. Our parents and m-his parents were friends, remember?" Sirius asked, catching himself just in time.

"Chris Davison…" Gwen said musingly. "Oh! Chris _Davison_. What about him?"

"I sort of remember him. I do remember Karen though; we used to be best friends. I wonder what happened to her," Regulus said thoughtfully.

"Wish I knew," Sirius said wistfully. "Anyway, about Chris. He's getting married!" he said, breaking the news to them.

There was a stunned silence before Gwen shrieked, "No way!"

"Yes. The wedding is in the first week of July. By the way, we're all invited," Sirius added.

"Married! He's much too young," Gwen said, sounding scandalized.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's not eight years old anymore, Gwen. It's been nearly twelve years since we saw him, he's twenty now."

Regulus let out a low whistle. "Wow, twelve years," he commented.

"Yes, the years do fly by, don't they?" Sirius agreed.

"So, are we all going?" he asked.

"Absolutely," said Gwen.

"Definitely," said Regulus.

Sirius grinned widely. "Excellent."

* * *

**Summer Seventh Year**

**June 25, 1977 Saturday, 10 AM**

"Kreacher!" Sirius yelled.

With a loud 'pop', Kreacher appeared in front of him. "You called, Master Sirius?"

"Yes. Go to Woodside Manor and bring back Diana Wood," Sirius barked.

"You don't have to yell at him all the time, Sirius," Regulus commented, rolling his eyes.

Half a hour later, Kreacher had returned with Diana and they were ready to Norway where the wedding was to be held. They were planning to spend the week before the wedding at Chris' house so that they could all catch up, and more importantly, so that Diana and Chris could get acquainted.

"So how do _you_ know Chris?" Regulus asked Diana with curiosity.

"Oh! I-uh." Diana glanced nervously at Sirius.

"She's his sister," Sirius informed him.

Regulus thought for a long time before replying. "You mean the _baby_?!" he asked, staring incredulously at her as if surprised that she wasn't still in a cradle.

Diana giggled. "I'm nearly thirteen now, you know," she said.

"Right." Regulus grinned back at her.

Gwen merely looked at her without comment.  
_Diana Davison…Sirius had said that she was Chris' sister but what he didn't know was that she was also __**his**__ sister. How unfortunate that he have his sister by his side all these years and not even be aware of it…_ she thought sympathetically.

"Come on, let's go," said Sirius.

Regulus went through the floo network first, following by Diana then Gwen, with Sirius bringing up the rear.

When Sirius arrived at Chris' house, he and Diana were standing about five feet apart, timidly eying each other.

Relief filled both of their faces as they saw him and Diana rushed to his side while Chris enthusiastically greeted him.

Sirius nervously cleared his throat. How was one supposed to introduced_siblings_ to one another?

Regulus looked sympathetically at Sirius. By what unfortunate twist of fate was it that these two siblings had to be introduced to one another? Noticing his discomfort, Regulus quickly jumped in.  
"Chris! It's good to see you again. This is Diana," he gestured between them. "Diana, this is Chris Davison."

"Hello, Diana," Chris said, sticking a hand out to her.

"Um, hello Chris," Diana replied, taking his hand.

They briefly shook hands then went back to shifting and nervously eyeing the other as they had been doing.

"So, I've heard you're a excellent Seeker, Diana," Chris said awkwardly, attempting to start a conversation.

"Oh, did Sirius tell you that?" Diana said, looking pleased.

"She_is_ very good," Sirius said proudly and added, "Almost as good as Gwen."

Four eyes rolled simultaneously.

"You should be quite proud of yourself, Diana. Sirius absolutely worships Gwen; that's the best form of compliment you can get possibly get from him," Regulus commented.

The others snickered and the tension was considerably lessened afterwards, so that the five were able to converse without awkwardness despite the unusual situation.

---

The week passed quickly, during which they were able to meet Chris' fiancé, Kara, and her family. Before they knew it, the wedding day had arrived and Sirius, James, and Regulus were waiting for Chris to make an appearance while Gwen and Diana were helping Kara get ready.

"You look so pretty," Diana said with a sigh.

"Yes, Chris is going to faint at the sight of you," Gwen agreed.

"Thanks." Kara smiled.

"C'mon, Di. We should go sit down," said Gwen.

"Wait. I have something to say to Kara," said Diana.

"Alright. I'll be waiting outside," Gwen replied, closing the door after her.

Diana turned to Kara and impulsively hugged her. "I'm glad my brother is marrying you," she said shyly.

Kara smiled and took her hand. "And I'm so glad you could make it to our wedding, Diana. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to Chris that you're here."

"Really?" said Diana, pleased.

"Of course. You won't believe how excited he was when he heard that you were coming. You were too young to remember him but he remembers you and he talks about you and the rest of your family all the time. He was a lot older than the rest of you and he remembers much more so it was a lot harder for him to make a new life," Kara said sadly.

"Poor Chris," Diana murmured, getting slightly teary-eyed.

"He still hasn't gotten over how his family was ripped apart and it means a lot to him that his family is with him today," Kara said, patting her hand.

"And he grew up alone with Uncle Jeff, didn't he? Uncle Jeff would've been more like a brother than a father figure. Poor Chris, he must've been so lonely," Diana said sympathetically.

Kara smiled wistfully. "He must've been. I think that's partly why he was so drawn to me. You saw what my family is like," she said.

"Yes, I've always envied big families," Diana said enviously.  
"It was lonely sometimes, growing up as a only child, even though I had my parents. I can't imagine what it must have been like for Chris," she said sadly.

"Don't worry about Chris. He wasn't as lonely as you think he must've been. He always had his friends and later me and my family," Kara said assuringly.  
"And I promise that I'll see to it that he's never lonely again," she promised.

"Thank you," Diana whispered.

"No, thank you," said Kara.

"For what?" asked Diana.

"For coming back. I believe your coming back was the best wedding present he could want," said Kara, reaching out to hug her.

"I think I better go before I make you late for your own wedding," said Diana, disengaging from the hug.

Diana headed out into the hall where Gwen was waiting, impatiently walking back and forth.

"What took you so long? When you said that you had to tell her something, I didn't realize you meant your life story," Gwen teased.

Diana grinned. "I guess we kinda got carried away."

Gwen snorted. "Kind of?"

"C'mon. Let's go."

It was 6:25 PM when Diana and Gwen finally joined Regulus and James on Chris' side of the guests. James' parents, Uncle Jeff, and several of Chris' friends sat with them while Sirius, who was best man, stood at the front with Chris.

The wedding began as Kara walked up the aisle with her bridesmaid, Melody Summers, ahead of her. After a quick reception, Chris and Kara were leaving for their honeymoon and Sirius, Gwen, Regulus, and Diana were seeing them off.

Just as they were about to leave, Chris turned back and came towards them.  
"I forgot to mention," he said, "Kara and I were offered positions at St. Mungo's so we're transferring to England."

"That's great!" Diana beamed.

"Thanks," Chris replied, looking pleased.

"Congratulations," Regulus said heartily.

"St. Mungo's? I want to work there," Gwen said with longing.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around a lot in a year or so then," Chris said with a smile.

"Congratulations, Chris," said Sirius, pulling him into a manly hug.  
"I better see more of you now," he added in a whisper. "At least once a week."

"Don't worry bro, you'll be begging me to stop coming around," Chris whispered back with a grin.

After Chris and Kara had finally left, they flooed back to England through the International Floo Network.

* * *


	12. Instinct

**Chapter 10****: Instinct**

**July 7, 1977 Thursday, 10:32 AM**

"Let's watch the Muggle movies that Peter got for us since Mother's not home," Sirius suggested.

They opened the secret cabinet in Gwen's room which held their collection of movies. They had kept the cabinet in Gwen's room since their mother was prone to searching Sirius' room and throwing away any Muggle items that weren't attached by a permanent sticking charm.

"Hey, this one's a horror movie about a witch. Let's watch this one," Sirius suggested.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Peter's sense of humour," she muttered.

Sirius grinned. "Why? It's brilliant. Maybe we should show this one to Mother. I'm sure she'll enjoy it," he said.

"Like she really needs another reason to hate Muggles," Gwen retorted.

"Good point."

Gwen continued to shuffle through the movies. "There's a few on zombies, ghosts, werewolves-really, how tactless."  
"Why are they all horror?" she complained.

"No, there are a couple of others. Look, there are a couple of Disney movies," said Sirius, holding out a couple to her.

"Disney_movies_? What's that? Disney made movies too?" asked Gwen.

"I suppose so. According to Peter, every Muggle child grows up watching these movies," Sirius told her.

"Let's watch this one then," said Gwen, picking up the first one.  
"Cinderella," she read out loud.

"Alright."

Sirius stuck the video into his new colour TV, the latest Muggle electronic, which had been his birthday present from Gwen and they settled back on his bed to watch.

Ten minutes later, Sirius turned to Gwen and burst out laughing at the look of utter bewilderment and horror on her face.

"Why do they keep _singing_? Muggle children like _this_?" said Gwen astonished.

"You want to watch a different movie?" Sirius suggested.

"Absolutely. This is worse than a horror movie," Gwen said with a shudder.

"My pick. Since you got to pick the first horror," said Sirius.

"Okay, as long as its not another Disney horror," said Gwen.

"There's this one about vampires," said Sirius.

"Looks interesting. And it would be fun to see vampires from the Muggle perspective," said Gwen.

They stuck the movie into the television and it soon had them in tears of laugher as the hero brandished a knot of garlic and a wooden cross at a vampire.

"Muggles think that they can defeat a vampire with _that_? Where do they _get_ their ideas?" said Gwen.

"Seriously. Everyone knows that only a werewolf or a fellow vampire can kill a vampire," Sirius commented.

The movie soon turned bloody as a colony of vampires invaded the village.

"I_**hate**_ horror movies," Gwen said with fervour as she covered her eyes at a particularly violent scene.

"You want to turn it off?" asked Sirius.

"Are you kidding me? You _know_ I say that every time we watch a horror movie," Gwen replied.

"Alright." Sirius turned back to the screen.

"Why did she scream?" Gwen asked anxiously as she heard a high pitched scream.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Uh, that would be me," said Sirius sheepishly.

Sirius reddened as Gwen burst out laughing.  
"Let's just watch the movie, alright?" he said sullenly.

"Sure, whatever you say," Gwen grinned widely.

They turned back to the screen and watched the movie in rapt silence until half an hour later when Sirius interrupted.  
"I don't understand _why_ she would call out _his_ name when she's suppose to pretend that she doesn't even know him," he said exasperatedly. "She totally blew their secret."

The pair Sirius was referring to was the hero and heroine who were keeping their relationship a secret since it was a forbidden one. However, when the heroine had been attacked by the vampire, she had called out the name of her boyfriend.

"I dunno, I think it's a bit romantic," said Gwen.

"Romantic? How is that romantic?" Sirius asked, dumbfounded.

"Because I guess it's a sort of _instinct_ to call out to the person you love the most when you're in danger," Gwen explained.

"What if it had been you in that situation, Gwen? Would it be me or Rabastan that you call?" Sirius asked, his grey eyes turning stormy as they bore in hers.

"What kind of question is that? Of course it would be Rabastan," Gwen said mock seriously.

Her face tinged pink with fury as Sirius' face fell.

"How could you think, for a single second, that I love you less than Rabastan!" Gwen demanded.  
"I could never love anyone more than I do you," she said fiercely.

Sirius smiled. "Me neither."

Gwen looked at him, slightly mollified, and asked, "Well, then what about you? Wouldn't _you_ call for me?"

"Geez, I don't know. It's a tie between you and Snivellus," Sirius said dryly.

* * *

**July 17, 1977 Saturday, 3:58 PM**

Sirius glared defiantly at his mother, unflinching, as she continued to perform various curses and hexes upon him.

It had become a sort of unspoken war between them. Her trying to force him to cry out, shed at least a single tear, and him defiantly refusing to give in.  
These sorts of sessions had become a routine over the past two years though only he and his mother knew of it and she had been very cautious so that no body else suspected.

Sirius himself never told any one. Both Gwen and Regulus thought her the perfect mother and he didn't want to ruin this image for them. Besides, all that mattered was that she was a good mother to them and he was thankful that she at least was good to her own children.  
Perhaps he, Sirius, had been a disappointment as an adoptive child, having been sorted into Gryffindor, but he was certain that she would never have forsaken her own flesh and blood.

If Gwen were to find out, not only would she blame herself for having been oblivious to it all and not preventing it, she would also grow to resent their mother and Sirius felt that Gwen didn't deserve that kind of pain.  
Furthermore, though Walburga hadn't been a very good mother to Sirius, he felt that perhaps he had pushed her to it and it was partly his own fault.

As for their father, Sirius didn't tell him, though he was the one person able to stop her, because he felt that he had already done more than enough for him. Orion was so good to him that everyone felt that he favored Sirius out of the three and Sirius felt that perhaps Walburga's jealousy over this aspect had lend to her resentment of him. After all, it was natural for her to feel and resent that an adoptive child stole her husband's love from her own children.

"Sectumsempra!"

Sirius gritted his teeth as an invisible sword cut across his chest and arms causing blood to spurt forth.

Walburga looked at him, her eyes void of any emotion and her face contorted with rage.

"Mother?" Gwen's voice was heard from the living room as she arrived through the floo network.

"Yes, dear?" Walburga called, and as she looked upon Sirius, her eyes once again filled with rage, but of a different sort. Rage and self-disgust.

As she helped Sirius wipe the blood and clean his wounds, there was only tenderness in her eyes now and he felt that it had almost been worth the pain.  
Walburga was always very loving towards Sirius after one of her attacks and Sirius felt that it was more out of guilt than fear that he would tell because there was no falseness in her actions, only pain. Though he felt resentment for her, he also felt pity because he suspected that she couldn't control her own anger and jealousy, which was why he endured her attacks without defending himself or attacking her back.

* * *

**July 23, 1977 Sunday, 9:10 AM**

"Gwen, are you ready yet?" Regulus called from the living room where he was impatiently pacing in front of the fireplace.

"I'll be right down," Gwen called back.

Gwen rushed through the bathroom to Sirius' room, where he was gathering his quidditch equipment, and threw her arms around him in a quick hug.  
"Bye, see you later," she said into his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you later. Have fun at Diagon Alley," Sirius said, hugging her back.

"Gwen, we were supposed to meet them _ten minutes ago_," Regulus whined.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming," Gwen called back over her shoulder then quickly turned her head back to Sirius, causing her lips to brush lightly against his.

The two burst out laughing, belying their pounding hearts. Before he could change his mind, Sirius quickly leaned over and pecked her lightly on the lips then gently pushed her to the door.

"Come on, you better go before Regulus burns a fuse," Sirius said lightly.

Gwen walked down to the living room in a daze with a slight grin on her face. Regulus, who was still pacing the floor, stopped when he saw her.  
"What's gone into you?" he asked with bewilderment.

"What? Oh. Nothing, nothing," Gwen replied, shaking her head as if to clear the daze from it.

Regulus raised a brow but didn't press further. "So what took you so long?" he asked.

"I was just saying 'goodbye' to Sirius," said Gwen.

Regulus snorted. "Goodbye? You're going to be apart for a few hours, not days," he said exasperatedly.

Gwen ignored him. "Come on, let's go," she said.

She threw a pinch of floo power into the fireplace and stepped into the it. "Diagon Alley!" she called.

She and Regulus were going to Diagon Alley where they were going to spend the day with a couple of their friends. No sooner had Gwen stepped out from the fireplace then Aquila and Narcissa were on either side of her.

"Finally!" Narcissa exclaimed.

"We thought you'd forgotten," Aquila said reproachfully.

Rabastan also joined them, leaning in to give Gwen a light kiss but she turned her head at the last second so that it landed on her cheek.  
"Hi, Rabastan," she greeted. She gave him a swift peck on the cheek and quickly turned back to the others.

"What took you two so long?" asked Rodolphus.

He was sitting at the counter surrounded by Rabastan, Lucius, Severus, Avery, Mulciber, and Magus.

Regulus, who had just stepped out of the fireplace after Gwen, replied with a dramatic sigh. "Gwen just couldn't _bear_ to leave without a tearful goodbye to Sirius."

The others snickered but Gwen ignored them and turned to Rodolphus.  
"Rodolphus, how have you been? How's Bella?" she asked, giving her cousin-in-law a hug.

"Bella's doing well. She sends her love," Rodolphus replied.

Before Gwen could reply, Narcissa and Aquila dragged her out the door.

"We'll be back in a few hours," they called back to the guys.

"Stop staring, Rabastan. It's very unbecoming, what would Father say?" Rodolphus drawled.

"They didn't make girls like her in his age. Besides, I've seen you look at Bella the same way," Rabastan retorted.

Rodolphus grinned. "Well now, Bella, _she's_ different story. She's certainly not the 'damsel in distress' of our fathers' age."

"Are you saying that Gwen is?" Rabastan demanded, looking irritated.

"I suppose not but Bella is far more feisty than Gwen is. More beautiful too," Rodolphus said with appreciation.

Regulus snorted. "Still enjoying married life?" he asked.

"Immensely," Rodolphus replied.

Rabastan broke in. "Well I suppose you have to say that out of loyalty to Bella, but Gwen is by far the more beautiful."

"While we're discussing the Black girls, may I add that I believe Narcissa is the most beautiful out of them all?" Lucius interrupted with a slight smirk.

Both Rodolphus and Rabastan burst into derisive laughter.

"If you're interested in the fragile type," Rodolphus said with a shrug.

"Narcissa is way too delicate," said Rabastan. "Nothing like Gwen or even Bellatrix."

"Narcissa isn't delicate," Lucius said indignantly and turned to Regulus. "_You_ know she isn't."

"Leave me out of this. Don't you realize these ladies you're speaking so fondly of are my sister and cousins?" Regulus drawled.

"You're one to talk. I saw the way you were looking at _my_ sister," Lucius retorted slyly.

"I was not," Regulus protested. "I was watching Gwen!"

Lucius snorted. "We should hope you don't look at your sister that way."

"Looks like you have competition, Rabastan," Rodolphus drawled, causing the others to laugh.

"Not very surprising. I suppose you Blacks like to keep it in the family; I heard your parents are cousins," Severus put in.

"Now, now. No need to insult such a noble pureblood line, Snape," Rodolphus reprimanded.

The others watched in interest, much too accustomed to the frequent Regulus/Severus confrontations to be bothered. Their less than friendly relationship was common knowledge amongst the Slytherins and served to aggravate Gwen to no end.

"Jealous, Snape?" Regulus sneered. "I'll have you know that they're only distant cousins. But then I've always said, better to marry even your own cousin than a Muggle."  
"By the way, how's your Mudblood friend?" he added.

Severus flushed at the slight to his father and to Lily. "Don't call her a Mudblood," he growled.

Regulus smirked. "Why not? You did," he replied.

"Guys!" Rodolphus interrupted, seeing that Severus was on the verge of taking out his wand. "We have more serious matters to discuss before the girls get back."

All seven boys immediately turned their attention to him.

"How fares the Dark Lord?" Regulus asked with a sudden reverence.

"Fine," Rodolphus nodded. "He's been gaining followers from abroad as well."

"Of course. Isn't that why Evan transferred to Durmstrang? To gather followers there?" Rabastan asked.

"Yes. As you know, Evan has been granted the position of junior Death Eater under the Dark Lord's service," said Rodolphus.

"How come _he_ got to join before he became of age?" Magus complained.

"Of course he was granted this special privilege since his father is also under the Dark Lord's service," said Rodolphus.

"Can we not speak of Rosier?" Lucius growled. "Aquila still bursts into tears whenever someone mentions his name," he said darkly.

"You can't really blame Evan for ending things with her before he left; he just wanted to protect her in case something happens to him," said Snape.

"Yes, he was just as reluctant to leave Aquila as she was," Magus agreed.

"Besides, wasn't it just a few months ago that you were trying to get on his good side since he's Narcissa's cousin?" Mulciber said slyly.

"That was obviously before he broke Aquila's heart, you dimwit," Regulus snapped.

"Quite true, Regulus. And can we please not discuss Rosier?" Lucius said, gritting his teeth.

"Alright. Are you still uncertain of whether you will join or not, Lucius?" Rodolphus asked.

Lucius sighed. "Of course I completely support the cause but I must confess that I have my doubts about his true motives."

Rodolphus nodded understandingly. "It's understandable. I've seen a share of unpleasantness through the duration of my service, but there must always be sacrifices involved in a important cause."

For the next hour or so, they continued to discuss the Dark Lord and his actions before the girls arrived. Currently, the Dark Lord was rapidly gathering followers and it was with high anticipation for the distant days when he himself would finally become a Death Eater that Regulus returned home.

* * *

**July 23, 1977 Sunday, 1:15 PM**

Walburga Black sat in the confines of her bedroom with Druella Black, her sister-in-law and close confidante.

"What is it, Druella?" asked Walburga as she saw that Druella was contemplating over something.

Orion was out with the men while Gwen and Regulus were meeting with their friends. As for Sirius, who knew where _he_ was, nor did she particularly care.

Druella thought for another minute before she spoke. "Walburga, why do I get the impression that Sirius thinks he's adopted?" she asked. "Surely you've told him the truth when you brought him back?"

"No, we haven't. Sirius _does_ think that he is adopted," Walburga confessed.

"Whatever do you mean by it! The poor dear," Druella said sympathetically, "Don't you see how hard he tries?"  
"Do you know what he said?" she said reproachfully. "He said that he pities adopted children because they must always strive to fit in and be loved. Imagine that!"

"Why do you put the poor child through all that misery? And for nothing!" said Druella.  
"I can sympathize with people who don't tell their adoptee that they are adopted but to let your _own_ child think that he is adopted! I don't understand," she said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, Druella, everything's so complicated! There are matters considering his birth that even _we_ don't understand," said Walburga.  
"We still don't know how Sirius ended up with the Davisons; our theory is that perhaps our children were switched."

"At first we thought that perhaps Sirius and Gwen had been switched since they were born on the same day and Gwen does resemble Cassiopeia a bit. Now we believe that it was our firstborn. He was supposedly Gwen's twin and died within hours of his birth but we think that he may not have been our child as we had originally thought, but the Davisons'. Cassiopeia Davison did give birth the same day, we think to that child, and their child was switched with our Sirius."  
"Of course nothing is for sure. Perhaps the child was ours as well and the Davisons' child is still alive elsewhere," she added.

"But Walburga, surely Sirius would have at least _suspected_ that he isn't adopted? How can he not when he is the spitting image of Orion?" asked Druella.

"He is, isn't he?" said Walburga with pride. "That is what made us suspect that perhaps Sirius was our son. Even though Harrison was Orion's first cousin and Cassiopeia another distant cousin, surely it was impossible for their child to resemble him so much?"

"But no, Sirius himself doesn't suspect it; he doesn't even _dream_ it possible."

Walburga continued, "Well, it was a bit of a trauma to our families when we discovered it; to discover that your child is not your own! And of course we had to break off Sirius and Gwen's betrothal; it wouldn't do, of course, to have them marry after what we had discovered."

"Of course," Druella chuckled. "But that still doesn't explain why you haven't told Sirius himself."

Walburga remained silent for a few minutes. "How can I, Druella? How dare I when _I_ was the one who gave the order?" she finally said.

"What order?" Druella asked, then her eyes widened as she understood. "No, surely-I never thought…"

"Yes, it was all my doing," said Walburga, her face heavy with distress.

"I was the one who killed them, Druella."

* * *


	13. Fellytone

**Chapter 11: Fellytone.**

**July 23, 1977 Sunday, 1:20 PM**

Sirius had just come home to get his extra broomstick and he stopped at the entrance as he heard voices come from his parents' room.

"But why, Walburga? Your best friends!" Druella said disbelievingly.

"Please, Druella, don't judge me too harshly," Walburga pled.

Druella nodded hurriedly. "Of course not."

"I had to do it," Walburga said almost desperately. "Orion didn't want to bring him back; he said that it would have a bad effect on Sirius to 'pull him up by the roots'."  
"It's always about Sirius," she added bitterly.

"He wanted to let the Davisons raise him just so that Sirius can have an undisturbed childhood. But what about me? What about a mother pining away for her eldest son?"

_What is she saying?_ Sirius thought with confusion. _Her eldest son? Regulus is her __**only**__ son. _

"Of course," Druella said soothingly.

"Orion was devastated of course. He, Cassiopeia and Harrison were all in the same year at Hogwarts and the three of them were best friends," said Walburga.

"Cassiopeia is your aunt, isn't she?" asked Druella.

"Yes, my father's youngest sister. There was a rather large age difference between them and she was only a few years older than me. Orion's father was her cousin and the three of us grew up together. I was always the third wheel though, until Harrison came into the picture," said Walburga.  
"Orion was furious with me," she said after a moment.

"So Orion _knew_?" Druella said with a gasp.

"Yes, he found out not long afterward," Walburga replied.

"Oh!" Druella said with surprise, "So that's why-?"

Yes. He even filed for divorce…I had to hold on to him _somehow_," said Walburga.

"You had to hold on to him somehow? What are you _saying_?" Druella gasped.

"Regulus was the one who found me," Walburga answered, tears gathering in her eyes.

"And he was always so sensitive as a child…" she said remorsefully.

"I'm so sorry, Walburga. I had no idea," said Druella, gathering her in her arms.

"Orion has yet to forgive me," Walburga said, defeated.  
"But even amidst the pain of his own loss and the fact that his friends had died, it was _Sirius'_ welfare, _Sirius'_ loss that concerned him," she added angrily.  
"And he wanted to let Sirius be _adopted_, saying that I wasn't _fit_ to be his mother."

"Oh, Walburga, of course not," Druella soothed.

"It was the Potters' decision to adopt Sirius that finally convinced him though. As much as he cared for Sirius' welfare, he couldn't bear to see his own child raised by them," Walburga continued.  
"They were always rather queer."

_Why, why, why?_ Sirius had asked himself countess numbers of times.

_Why the Blacks had adopted him. _

_Why they hadn't acted until the Potters' own decision to adopt him._

_Why they had specifically wanted __**him**__, Sirius. _

_Why they had been given custody of him over his own aunt and uncle. _

Now he knew why. It was because _they_, the Blacks, were his biological parents.  
He wasn't adopted after all.

He had always wondered why the Blacks had adopted him when it was practically unheard of that a purebloodist family adopt. And even stranger was that no one, not even Travers who had so loved to torment him, had ever mentioned the fact that he was an adoptee but had always said that he was a disgrace to the Black line, as if he actually _was_ a Black.

Sirius had always thought that it was because the Blacks had such immense influence that no one had dared mention it. Now he realized that he was so obviously his father's son, especially in looks, that they had deduced that the Blacks were simply bringing back their own child instead of adopting a strange child.

Now the question was, why had they let _him_, their own son, think that he was adopted?

There was a long silence while Walburga hesitated before she finally spoke.  
"He was right though. Orion was right. You wouldn't believe how horribly I've treated Sirius," Walburga said with despair, 'but I can't _help_ it. He's a constant reminder of _them_; of what I've done. It's been driving me mad with guilt!"

"Put it all behind you, Walburga, you've suffered enough," Druella said, giving her a comforting hug.

"But the fact remains that I gave the order for the attack on the Davisons. I'm the one responsible for their deaths," said Walburga with despair.

Sirius nearly fell over with shock as he heard his mother's confession.

"I know, I know," Druella soothed, "but Walburga, I can't condemn you for wanting your son back."  
"I'm not saying that it was excusable," she said as Walburga protested, "but it is understandable. I think that I might have done the same if it had been one of my girls."  
"You wanted to get Sirius back."

_So that was it_, thought Sirius. _It was the tremendous guilt she bore that had turned her love to resentment._

For a moment, Sirius felt a twinge of pity along with the shock and fury.

_But no, that wasn't it,_ he suddenly thought, as he recalled that it had been when he had been sorted into _Gryffindor_ that her attitude towards him had changed. Before that, she had always been as loving and tender towards him as she was with Gwen and Regulus.  
_She really would forsake her child for her pureblood prejudices,_ Sirius finally realized.

Sirius had always thought that it was because he was an adoptee that her love had changed so easily; that things would have turned out differently if it had been either Gwen or Regulus, one of her real children, who had been sorted into Gryffindor.  
_I was wrong_, he thought with dismay.

She might truly believe that it was the guilt driving her but she was only kidding herself.

* * *

**July 26, 1977 Monday, 3:20 PM**

Regulus abruptly stopped as he caught a glimpse of Sirius while passing by the slightly ajar door of Sirius' room.

_He__**must**__ be mistaken. He must have just __**hallucinated**__ for a moment; he couldn't have just seen what he'd just seen. _

Regulus turned back and peered through the door into Sirius' room.

He_wasn't_ mistaken.

There Sirius was, sitting at his table surrounded by over half a dozen empty bottles of firewhiskey. And even yet, he was drinking by the bottle.

Regulus burst into the room and grabbed the bottle away from Sirius.  
"Don't you know how strong that stuff is? And what are you doing drinking here in broad daylight? What if Father catches you like this!" Regulus said anxiously.

He and Sirius were the only ones at home now which was probably why he had picked _today_ of all days to get drunk.

_How convenient_, Regulus thought sarcastically.  
Knowing father, if Sirius happened to get caught, it wouldn't be Sirius but Regulus himself who would be held responsible for allowing Sirius to get into this condition.

Why_he_ should be expected to look after Sirius he didn't know. After all, wasn't it generally the _older_ who looked after the _younger_?  
Yet father had always expected Regulus to watch out for Sirius and keep him out of trouble.

Gwen tried to assure him that it was only because he was far more responsible than Sirius was. He knew better; she was merely trying to comfort him. It was _obvious_ that it was only because Father favored Sirius and never blamed him for anything.

Regulus was merely his scapegoat.

Yet he didn't resent Sirius for it. He didn't even resent his father for it. After all, it was only natural that he favor Sirius. Sirius just had a way with him that drew people to himself.  
It was difficult not to like him.

Regulus himself had nearly idolized him as a child and even now, he held a high respect for him. Yet he never allowed it to show because he knew of Sirius' resentment of him. And he would never allow anyone to see how much it hurt to see Sirius, who had once been his adoring brother and a friend, speak to him as he would to an acquaintance.

Before Hogwarts, they had been friends. They had been brothers. Now they were little more than strangers who just happened to live in the same house.  
Before Hogwarts, they had played together and would talk of anything and everything. Now any sort of conversation or venture was awkward without Gwen. There were so many things he wanted to tell Sirius, so many things that only Sirius would understand, yet he couldn't.

"Hey Reg," Sirius said with a slight slur.

Regulus stared at him for a moment with surprise. The last time Sirius had called him that had been before he had been sorted into Slytherin. Before their Houses and their mother had torn them apart.

"Hey Siri," he said wistfully.

"Do me a favor, will you? Take care of our sister. Don't let her hurt Gwen."

"Her?" Regulus repeated curiously.

"Mother. Who else?" Sirius said bitterly.

"_**Mother**_? Why would Mother do that? She would _never_ hurt anyone!" Regulus said incredulously.

"How do you think I got these scars?" Sirius answered with a cynical laugh, lifting his robes to reveal his recent scars which had yet to completely heal.

"What? How long has this been going on? Why didn't you say anything?" Regulus demanded.

"What would that have solved?" Sirius snorted.

"But-_why_?" Regulus asked incredulously.

"Why do think? Of course it's because of all this pure-blood mania. It obsesses you, to the point where you're blinded by it all…to the point where you would torture and even KILL! It's all BULLSHIT!" Sirius burst angrily.

Regulus looked down at his brother with shock and confusion. It was the first time Sirius had spoken outright to him against their parents' beliefs. It was generally an unspoken rule between them that they avoid pureblood/Muggle-born issues when speaking to each other.

But if what Sirius was telling him about their mother was true, then he was also most likely right about the pureblood mania. Besides, hadn't he seen for himself how much their mother's attitude towards Sirius had changed just because he had been sorted into Gryffindor?

_But Sirius __**couldn't**__ be right,_ Regulus protested.  
He was turning over all the beliefs he had held firm during his life. Everything he had been taught from birth. It would mean that his entire _life_ had been wrong.  
And nearly the whole House of Slytherin were Purebloodists. Surely they couldn't_all_ be wrong, could they…?

"Tell me, Reg, why do you even hate Muggles and Muggle-borns?" Sirius asked.

Regulus gave him a disbelieving look. "Isn't it obvious, Sirius? Don't_you_ ever get tired of this hiding, of pretending that we don't even exist? And it's not only a year or two or even ten years but our whole life! A whole lifetime of hiding, hiding, and more hiding!" he burst out.

Sirius stared at him, dumbstruck by his outburst.

"Don't you understand, Sirius? Our lifestyle isn't _normal_. We shouldn't have to sneak around like criminals. We shouldn't always have to hide like cowards from Muggles. _We_ are the ones with power in this world and Muggles are under _our_ mercy," Regulus said fervently.

"I've always thought this was normal," said Sirius, looking dazed.

Regulus laughed humorlessly. "Normal? Tell me, Sirius. Why do _we_ have to hide? Why must _we_ always be careful? Why must we always fear that the Muggles will notice us? Tell me! _Why!_?" he said with outrage.

Strange. He had never thought of it that way before. He had always thought that Muggles were the victimized, had thought that Muggles were merely the scapegoat in the pure-bloods' struggle for power. Now Sirius could begin to understand why Regulus had been led astray.

Regulus paused then spoke again, his voice now full of hope and anticipation. "Generations of wizards and witches have longed for freedom and the Dark Lord has promised us this. He has promised us a world where we won't have to hide, but will rule over Muggles. And he has promised this world to his Death Eaters, Sirius."

Sirius could understand where Regulus had been led astray, yet he knew with certainty that this new Dark Lord was not the answer.  
"Yes, a world where _**he**_ will rule with his 'beloved' Death Eaters as his puppets! A world ruled by _terror_!" he spat.  
"Don't you see? His promise of purification of the Wizarding race is merely a excuse! All he wants is power! Voldemort is just another Grindelwald; he kills people simply for opposing him, even his precious pure-bloods! Do you think it will be any different when he has achieved this world?"

"The Dark Lord only does what he must. His opposers are too easily satisfied. They are fools who are content with this dissatisfactory life. It's for the better good, Sirius," said Regulus adamantly.

"The better good," Sirius sneered. "So it's alright if a few people are killed along the way, is it? A throne obtained by bloodshed will be kept through bloodshed. You're the fool if you don't realize that, Regulus."

Regulus looked thoughtfully back at him and Sirius continued, his voice now smooth and persuasive.

"Tell me, Reg. Why is a Mudblood" Sirius spat out the word with distaste, "or even a Muggle so inferior to us purebloods that we have to treat them like filth? They're humans, like us, only without magic and we treat them worse than House-elves."

Regulus snorted and opened his mouth to retort to the question he considered ridiculously obvious when he realized, he didn't _know_. Of course he had _reason_ to hate Muggles since it was because of them that he was forced into hiding, but that didn't automatically make them filth, did it?  
He had merely, mindlessly, accepted what he had been taught without question simply because he had been brought up on the belief.

The sky is blue, the grass is green, all Muggles and those associated with them are filth.  
Likewise, he had never bothered to wonder: _why?_  
The sky was _**just**_ blue, the grass was _**just**_ green, and likewise, he had believed that Muggles were _**just**_ filth.

_**This**__ was what Sirius meant,_ Regulus was beginning to realize. _This mindless acceptance, so very much like brainwash._

"They don't have magic," he finally managed to say.

"We don't have science or technology," countered Sirius, fully expecting him to ask what science was.

Instead Regulus replied, "We could if we needed or wanted to."

"But we don't," Sirius retorted, slightly surprised.

Regulus paused, trying to think of a good comeback. "Isn't science just a sort of substitute for magic?" he finally said.

"Pretty much," Sirius agreed and asked offhandly, "Did you ever see the wonders of a fellytone?"

"Telephone," Regulus automatically corrected, without thinking.

"…" Sirius stared at him in stunned silence.

"I was curious!" Regulus said defensively, "so I—uh—took a peek in your Muggle Studies book."

Once Sirius had gotten over the shock, the two began to discuss Muggle issues which Regulus was surprisingly knowledgeable about, having taken frequent 'peeks' into Sirius' books.

Though Regulus knew of the advanced technology of Muggles, he had never allowed himself to appreciate nor acknowledge the greatness of it before now. Now that he allowed himself to think objectively, he was able to fully understand the vastness of it all. He finally was able to admit, at least to himself and to Sirius, that Muggles weren't filth but were actually very admirable for their capability to function without magic.

_Why is it that I have never once, in nearly sixteen years, bothered to question my parents' beliefs before now? Am I that dense? That__**mindless**_ Regulus wondered.  
But the answer to _that_ at least was simple enough. Sirius was right; he had allowed his hatred for Muggles, his pureblood mania, to blind him. He had never really bothered to questioned it before, to actually think it through, because until now it had always been those he had been taught to deem as unworthy, bloodtraitors and Muggle-borns, who had questioned his beliefs. He had simply closed his mind to what he was being told. But this time had been different because it was Sirius, someone who he would actually question his beliefs _for_, who had shown him.

"Promise me, Reg, promise me that you'll never become a Death Eater," Sirius suddenly said.

Though Regulus had dreamt for years of the day that he could finally join the Dark Lord, he answered without hesitation.  
"I promise," he assured Sirius.

"I always _did_ like you…" Sirius said wistfully and added softly, "I hoped you would be in Gryffindor so we can be like _real_ brothers."

Sirius_had_ always liked Regulus, even when he had been living with the Davisons. And when he had come to live with the Blacks, he had been glad to have the cute, adoring little boy for a brother. He himself had adored the sensitive and imaginative little boy that Regulus had been as a child.

There was nothing left of that sensitive little boy in Regulus now. Slytherin had taken his sweet, sensitive boy brother and turned him into a stranger.  
And that was his grudge against the Slytherin House. Because Slytherin had taken his brother away from him.

His sensitive, compassionate brother who had loathed pain and ugliness speaking of a cold-hearted murderer with _admiration_, becoming one of his puppets! He couldn't bear to think of it.

A slight wistfulness came over Regulus as Sirius said, "I hoped you would be sorted into Gryffindor…"  
He had hoped too. How he had longed to be sorted into Gryffindor where he could always be with Sirius! They would always hang out together as they always did at home and he could accompany Sirius on his adventures.

For months before starting Hogwarts he had prayed, to whatever higher being there was out there, to sort him into Gryffindor.  
And how desperately he had begged the sorting hat to put him into Gryffindor! Yet the sorting hat had ignored his plea and had said that Gryffindor was not the house for him. He had pled, saying that he would try to be brave like Sirius if only he could be sorted into Gryffindor, yet it had put him into Slytherin in the end.

Nevertheless, it was no use laying blame on the sorting hat for its actions. It _had_ been right to not place him in Gryffindor, even he knew that. He had never had half the courage and valor Sirius had. He had always been too weak, too sensitive.

Regulus opened his mouth, perhaps to tell him so–that he had wanted to be sorted into Gryffindor, not that he thought himself half as brave as Sirius-, but Sirius interrupted him.  
"Remember, whatever happens," Sirius grinned, all signs of solemnity gone now, "you will always be my favorite brother."

* * *


	14. Thicker Than Water

**Chapter 12: Thicker than Water…**

_**12 years ago…**_

_**July 25, 1965 Sunday, 7:03 AM**_

Gwen woke up as she felt somebody jump into her bed. "Wake up, Gwen! Wake up! We're going to Disney World today," Regulus squealed excitedly, bouncing on her bed.

Gwen immediately bolted up. "C'mon, let's go wake up Mummy and Daddy!"

They rushed out of the room and barged into their parents' room where Orion and Walburga were still asleep. Together they jumped unto the King size bed and began to giggle. "Wake up Mummy! Wake up Daddy!"

Walburga opened an eye and glanced at the clock by the door then closed her eyes again. "Go back to bed children, it's only 7 o'clock. Disney World doesn't open until 9 o'clock."

"But Mummy, we have to be the first ones there! Chris said the lines are much shorter if we get there early," Gwen protested.

Orion laughed as he sat up. "Alright, alright. Get ready and we'll go to Uncle Harry and Aunt Cassie's."

"Okay Daddy," Gwen and Regulus chorused happily and ran to their rooms to get ready.

"But Orion, you got home past midnight last night. You need your rest," Walburga protested.

"Nonsense. Today is for the children. Besides, being with them is relaxation enough," said Orion.

Walburga shook her head. "At least no one can say you don't care for your children," she said with resignation.

"You mean like Barty Crouch?" said Orion with scorn.

"What has young Barty done now?"

"You would think he doesn't even realize he has a son. He didn't even realize that it was his son's birthday until his wife sent their house elf, Twinkie, to remind him." Orion shook his head.  
"Of course that didn't stop him from staying even later than myself. Though he did remember to get Twinkle to buy a present for the child," he added with disgust.

"Poor dear. What's the child's name?" Walburga said sympathetically.

Orion replied with a sardonic smile, "Barty Crouch Jr."

"You would think he would show more concern for his namesake," Walburga said disdainfully.

"Apparently not," Orion said dryly.

At that moment, Gwen and Regulus ran back into the room, bringing their conversation to an end.

"Are you ready to go, dears?" asked Walburga.

"Yes Mummy."

"Alright then, hold onto Mummy tightly, Regulus." Walburga picked up Regulus in her arms while Orion picked up Gwen and they Apparated to Davison Manor.

"Gwen!"

"Lee!"

The two ran and threw their arms around each other as if they hadn't seen each other for years instead of mere days.

'My twin,' they called each other.

_They don't know how right they are, _Walburga thought.  
Sirius and Gwen had been born on the same day and had been joined at the hip from then on. Others had found it bit perplexing if not extraordinary that the two were so close and she herself hadn't been able to understand it until recently when it had been discovered that Sirius was actually the Blacks' son and therefore, Gwen's twin brother.  
Then she had finally understood. Though others had been unaware, the two had been able to feel the connection.

For wasn't blood thicker then water?

Half an hour later, the Davisons had gathered their children and were ready to leave.

"Where's Diana, Aunt Cassie?" Gwen asked Cassiopeia Davison.

"Diana can't come with us so she's going to stay with her Aunt Dorea," Cassiopeia explained.  
"Are you ready to leave?" she asked her other three children.

"Yes, Mummy," Sirius and Karen replied while Chris who was now nearly nine years old replied, "Yes, Mum."

Ten minutes later, the Blacks and the Davisons had successfully managed to arrive outside Disney World without losing any of the children.

"Alright, Lee hold unto Gwen's hand and Karen hold onto Regulus'. Don't let go, no matter what, and stay together," Cassiopeia instructed.  
"And Chris, I want you to help us watch over them since you're the oldest."

"Okay, Mum," Chris replied importantly.

Sirius and Gwen ran ahead to Disney World entrance ahead and the adults called after them.  
"That's the Disney World for Muggles," Orion said with distaste.  
He pointed towards the dark alley next to the Muggle Disney World entrance, "This way, children."

"Why Disney built such a place for those Muggle filth…" Walburga muttered darkly.

"Mu-Muggles? Muggles are there?" asked Regulus.

"Yes. And if you wander alone, a Muggle might come and kidnap you so stay close to Mummy," said Walburga.

The children exchanged terrified glances but Chris, who was now old enough to know better, snickered.

"Really, Walburga. Must you encourage such tales amongst the children?" said Cassiopeia with exasperation.

Harrison began to chuckle and the others looked towards him. "The way Lee talks of his 'adventure' when he went to fetch Gwen's teddy, you would think that Muggles were Grindelwald back to power," he said.

The adults chuckled as well as they led the children down the alley.  
Orion stepped up the empty trash bin at the end of the alley and tapped it with his wand.

The children watched with awe as the trash can moved aside to reveal the entrance which grew steadily bigger until it had expanded wide enough for three large men to walk through.

"I want to ride the Quidditch Fantasy!" Chris immediately yelled.

"Us too! Us too!" Sirius and Gwen chorused.

"Orion, you and Harrison take them on the ride," said Walburga. "Cassiopeia and I will take Regulus and Karen on a different ride."

"But Mummy, I want to ride the Quidditch Fantasy too," Regulus protested.

"You're still too young. Maybe next year," Walburga replied.

Walburga and Cassiopeia quickly dragged off a whining Regulus and Karen to the Flying Carousal.

Being children, Regulus and Karen quickly got over their distress and were laughing with delight in no time as they rode on the carousal.

Throughout the day, the children managed to ride all the top rides including Virtual Quidditch, Dragon Coaster, and Dragon Attack.

"We have time for one last one before we head home," said Harrison.

"Jaws," Chris said at once.

"I don't know, Chris, we should pick something the younger ones can enjoy as well," said Cassiopeia, eying Karen and Regulus.

"I want to go on this one, Mummy," Karen pouted.

"Me too. We didn't even get to go on the Quidditch Fantasy," Regulus said sullenly.

"Alright, you may go on this one," Cassiopeia said resignedly.

"Yea!" Regulus and Karen shouted joyfully.

"Come on, let's get on line," said Sirius excitedly. He and Gwen ran ahead, with Regulus and Karen following them.

Ten minutes later, the Blacks and the Davisons piled into the boat with the guide who would direct them through the water.

"Everyone must be seated at all times," the guide instructed.

Sirius and Gwen avidly watched the passing scenes as the boat began to move through the water.

"That over there is statue of…" the guide droned on, explaining the history and landmarks of the lake.

Gwen suddenly let out a shriek as she spotted the dark form swimming towards the boat.

"Shark!" she screamed with terror.

Regulus and Karen immediately burst into sobs as the shark jumped out of the water and Walburga and Cassiopeia hastily comforted them.

"Now what did I tell you, Honey? Didn't I tell you you're too young for this ride?" Cassiopeia said exasperatedly.

"Yes Mummy. I'll never disobey you again," Karen sobbed.

"I'm too young to die!" Regulus wailed.

"Now, now dear. You're not going to die," Walburga said as the others chuckled at his performance.

Even Chris was covering his eyes with his hands and Gwen had hidden her face against Sirius' shoulder. Sirius, on the other hand, sat perfectly still, holding tightly unto Gwen's hand.

The guide picked up a long metal wand-like object from a case and pointed it at the shark which was now swimming in circles around the boat.

_**BANG!**_

The children watched with astonishment and relief as a large hole was pierced into the shark and it slowly sank into the waters.

"Is it dead, Mummy?" Regulus sobbed.

"Yes, Dear. The bad shark won't scare Reggie anymore," Walburga murmured soothingly.

"It's just a shark, Regulus. Stop your tears immediately," Orion said sharply.

"Ye-yes, Fa-Father," Regulus stuttered, trying to hold his sobs in.

"Don't be so harsh on the boy, Orion! He was truly frightened," Walburga protested.

"Nevertheless, a boy shouldn't shed tears under any circumstances," Orion replied.

"You don't see Lee or Chris crying, do you?" he said to Regulus.

"Lee and Chris are older than Regulus. And Regulus is hardly more than a toddler; he's only three years old!"

"Four in less than a month! Regulus isn't a baby anymore, Walburga. You must stop babying him," Orion said irritably.

"Are you on that 'boys mustn't cry' issue of yours again, Orion?" Harrison said with a laugh. "Children have to grow up both laughing and crying."

"Young boys must learn to control their emotions if they are to become capable men. A true man is one who is able to laugh even if he longs to cry," Orion replied firmly.

Before anyone could reply, the boat reached land. To their surprise, Sirius immediately jumped up and bolted off the boat, pulling Gwen after him.

The adults quickly followed Sirius and heard him say to Gwen, with a sigh of relief, "Whew. I thought I was dead for sure."  
He then looked up at the Heavens and solemnly said, "_Thank_ you, Merlin."

"That's why I like him," Orion said approvingly as the others laughed at Sirius' words. "He bears his fear well. Who would have guessed how frightened he truly was?"

* * *

**August 4, 1965 Wednesday, 2:07 AM**

Walburga cautiously looked around before stepping into the dark and dinky bar. She quickly surveyed the tables until she spotted the hooded figure at the far corner and briskly walked toward the table.

"You wanted to see me, Walburga?" the hooded figure said.

"Yes. I want to ask you for a…favor," Walburga said hesitantly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's the Davisons…I want you to-I want you to-" she broke off.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"I want you to take care of them!" Walburga burst out.

He looked at her for a long moment. "Take care of them? Your best friends, Walburga. Are you sure you won't have any regrets?"

"I don't have room for such nonsense. I must have it done," Walburga said desperately.

"Very well. Place and date," he said.

"Nine o'clock. This Saturday. They'll be returning from a dinner party," Walburga said quickly, before she could have second thoughts.

* * *

**August 7, 1965 Saturday, 9:45 PM**

Several days had passed and the Davisons were returning home from a formal dinner. They Apparated to the dark alley by their home and began to walk home.

From the distance they saw Karen and Diana by the window, the latter being held up by the former. Karen waved merrily at them and Diana, following her older sister, began to wave her little hands as well.

Laughing, Harrison and Cassiopeia waved back.

"Dinner parties are enjoyable enough but the best part is coming home," Harrison said contentedly.

"Yes, it's so good to come home to our little darlings," Cassiopeia said lovingly.

They saw Karen leave the window and a few seconds later, the front door had opened and Karen was running towards them.

They were just about to call out when they saw the look of delight on Karen's face replaced by one of horror.

Before they had even turned around, a blinding flash of green light engulfed them and they were dead before they even hit the ground.

---

"Look Diana, Mummy and Daddy are here," Karen cooed, holding Diana up to the window.

Karen waved excitedly at them and Diana waved her little hands, imitating her.

Karen laughed affectionately and gently placed Diana in her crib in their room.  
"I'll go out to meet Mummy and Daddy," she said happily.

Karen raced out of the house and was just about to call out to them when she spotted the figure come out of the shadows.  
She watched in horror as the figure lifted his wand at her parents and a blinding flash of green light later, they had both crumpled to the ground.

Her scream frozen on her lips, Karen quickly hid behind a bush as the man looked around for witnesses. She stifled a sob as she saw him turn towards the house and face her direction. His face was now merely a shadow in the darkness but she had seen his face for a split second as the green flash that had killed her parents had illuminated his face.  
She would never forget that face.

Satisfied that there had been no witnesses, the hooded figure Disapparated with a loud '_CRACK',_ leaving Karen alone in the darkness.

* * *

**August 7, 1965 6: 20 PM**

"Oh, Mummy, you look so beautiful!" gasped Karen in admiration, as she watched her mother preparing for the dinner party.

Cassiopeia smiled at her over the pearl necklace she was fastening.

"I want to be just like you when I grow up, Mummy," Karen said with round-eyed adoration.

"No, you'll be much more beautiful than Mummy," said Cassiopeia.

"Really?" Karen asked eagerly.

"Of course," Cassiopeia replied warmly.  
She held a hand out to Karen. "Come on, dear. Let's go downstairs."

Taking her hand, she headed downstairs, skipping happily beside Cassiopeia. Once downstairs, she raced to Chris' room where he was playing with Sirius and James.

"Chris! Lee! Mummy and Daddy are leaving!" said Karen.

The three raced to the front door where their parents were waiting.

"Thanks for coming, Dorea," Cassiopeia said to her sister, who was holding Diana.

"It's my pleasure. Besides, you know James always enjoys coming over to play. Just go and enjoy yourselves," said Dorea.

"Bye Mummy! Bye Daddy!" the children chorused, kissing their parents goodbye.

"I want you to behave for Aunt Dorea, alright?" Cassiopeia instructed.

"I always behave. Right, Aunt Dorea?" Sirius said innocently.

"Of course you do, sweetheart," Dorea replied.

Sirius beamed and they laughed.

"Alright, you two should get going."

Harrison turned to the children with a grin. "Don't I have a beautiful wife, children?"

"Of course you do! The most beautiful," said Karen, nodding fervently.

"When I grow up, I'm going to choose a pretty wife like you, Dad," said Chris.

Harrison laughed. "You do that," he said, patting him on the head.

Sirius stepped forward and hugged Cassiopeia. "You look very pretty, Mummy," he said, looking up at her.  
"You look like Gwen, Mummy."

Cassiopeia and Harrison exchanged a startled glance.

"Of course she doesn't. Gwen looks like her own Mum and Dad. Why would she look like our Mum?" Chris interjected.

"Well, come on. Let your parents leave," Dorea said hastily.

After Cassiopeia and Harrison had finally left the children headed back to play.

"Where are you going, Karen? We're going to play in Chris' room," said Sirius.

"No, I want to play with Diana," said Karen.

"Alright. Come to my room when you get bored," said Chris.

The boys then raced off to Chris' room where James was waiting. They had been playing for several hours when they heard a piercing shriek.

"Karen!"

The three boys raced out of their room as they followed the sound of her shriek which didn't cease.

"I think it's coming from outside!"

They ran to the door where they were met by Dorea. They raced out the door and stopped dead at the sight that met them.

Karen had thrown herself on the ground where two bodies lay.

"Oh no!" Dorea gasped.

"MUMMY! DADDY!"

"MUM! DAD!"

---

Over the next few days, the house began to fill as friends and relatives arrived for the funeral.

"Gwen!" Sirius burst into tears as he saw her and Gwen immediately rushed to him. She embraced him and the two began to cry together. When they had finally cried themselves out, they began to wander, looking for familiar faces.

"There you are, Lee!" Dorea exclaimed, rushing to him.  
"Come along. We-we have to go to the funeral now," she said, rapidly blinking away her tears.

Dorea led them outside where the people were gathered dressed in their dress robes. They were joined by Gwen's family and Karen, Chris, and Diana.  
Sirius cried silently during the service and Gwen comfortingly squeezed his hand.

After a long hour, the service was over and they began to prepare to bury the coffins.

Karen let out a sudden shriek as they began to pour the dirt back on top of the coffin, and she jumped into the hole, tightly clutching unto the top of the coffin.  
"MUMMY! DADDY! NOOOOO!" she wailed.

"Karen-Karen, honey. Get out of there, please," Dorea pled.

Chris and Sirius reached into the hole and grabbed her arms but she broke free. By now, a large crowd had gathered around and everyone was looking at Karen with pity and sorrowfulness.

Regulus who had been holding unto his mother's hand broke free and jumped into the hole after her.  
"Come out, Karen," he said, beginning to cry. "Let's go."

Still crying, Karen stood up and threw her arms around Regulus and the two children wailed as they held unto each other.

Many in the crowd also cried at the sight of the pair and it remained as tragedy that would be unforgotten for many years afterwards.

* * *

**October 15, 1965 Friday, 8:20 PM**

Dorea looked around at Chris and Sirius and tears filled in her eyes as she gathered them in her arms.

"Aunt Dorea? What's going to happen to us now?" Chris asked.

He was the only one old enough to comprehend what was going on and know that things would change.

Dorea hesitated, faced with the question she couldn't answer.  
"Chris, you're going to go live with your Uncle Jeffrey," she told him.

"What about us? We're not going to go?" asked Sirius.

"Lee, you will go live with Uncle Orion and Aunt Walburga," Dorea replied.  
"You like Uncle Orion and Auntie Walburga, don't you, Lee?"

Sirius nodded. "Will Gwen be there?" he asked.

Dorea nodded, smiling through her tears. "You'll always be with Gwen now. Won't that be nice?"

Sirius nodded. "But why can't we all live together?" he asked sadly.

"Because you need parents to look after you, honey. One day, when you're all grown up you can all live together," Dorea said soothingly.

"Aunt Dorea? Will we ever see Karen and Diana again?" asked Chris.

Her tears began to overflow and fall at Chris' words.  
"Of course you will, dear," she said. "Of course you will."

* * *

**October 18, 1965 Monday, 9:08 AM**

Sirius held tightly unto Orion's hand as they stepped out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place together.

Walburga, Gwen, and Regulus were waiting for them in the living room and Walburga greeted him with a warm smile. "Welcome to our home, Lee."

Regulus and Gwen who had been sitting on their mother's lap scrambled down and raced to Sirius, and each hugged him on one side.

"Am I going to live here now?" asked Sirius, his eyes wide with apprehension.

"Yes, from now on this will be your home."

---

That night Sirius was sobbing silently into his pillow when his door opened and Gwen came into his room. She slipped into the bed besides him and the two held tightly unto each other.

"I miss my mummy and daddy, Gwen," Sirius sobbed. "Why did they leave me? I want to go h-home…"

"Your mummy and daddy didn't leave you. They'll always be here," Gwen said solemnly, with wisdom far beyond her five years, placing her hand over his heart.  
"They'll always being watching over you, even if you can't see them, and I'll always be right here," she said.

"Promise?" Sirius said with a sniffle.

"I promise," said Gwen.

Gwen kept her promise.

* * *


	15. Adieu

**Chapter 13: A****dieu**

**July 27, 1977 Tuesday, 8:40 AM**

Gwen glanced worriedly at Sirius who was being unusually quiet.

"Let's visit Echo Island," said Sirius suddenly.

"But we went a few days ago," said Gwen with surprise.

"Let's go anyway," said Sirius.

"I already agreed to meet Narcissa and Aquila to—" Gwen started.  
"I'll go and owl them to cancel it," she said quickly as Sirius looked solemnly back at her.

When Sirius was being serious, it was an indication that something was seriously wrong.

Sirius watched as Gwen left the room to owl her friends.  
They had to go to Echo Island because it was the only place they could truly be alone. He needed to be alone with her, to say goodbye.

He still couldn't believe it. He hadn't been adopted after all. All this time, all these years, he had thought that the Blacks were his adoptive parents when in reality, it was the other way around. The_Davisons_ were his adoptive parents and the Blacks were his biological parents.  
But how could he not have seen it before now? How could he have not seen the resemblance between him and his father? Was he _blind_? He was the replica of his father, from their grey eyes down to their tan complexion.

Which led to the fact that Gwen really _was_ his twin.

Sirius let out a bitter laugh. Hadn't people told him for years how he and Gwen were unmistakably twins? He should have been able perceive it before now, with everyone always mentioning the uncanny resemblance between he and Gwen. Any fool would have noticed _something_. But he had merely laughed at them, thinking that they were being fooled.

Well, the joke was on him.

Sirius felt a surge of anger. Why hadn't they told him? Why had they made a fool of him, excluding him from the secret that everyone but he himself had known?  
If only they had told him sooner. If only they had told him when they brought him back… At the very least he wouldn't have fallen in love with his sister.

But no, that wasn't entirely true. He had loved Gwen before they had brought him back, before they had discovered that he was their son.

**[Flashback**

Sirius and Gwen were walking hand in hand down the street when a man hurriedly rushed by them and knocked Sirius over.

"Lee! Are you alright?" Gwen cried out.

"Yes, don't worry. I'm fine," Sirius assured her.

"Hey Mister! Apologize!" Gwen screamed after the man.

"It's okay, Gwen," said Sirius, getting up from the ground.

Gwen ignored him and ran after the man and grabbed at his sleeve. "Look what you did to Lee! Apologize!" she demanded.

The man scowled down at her. "You insolent little girl! You don't speak to your elders that way!"

He tried to shake her off but she held on tightly and he threw her back with a glare.

"Gwen!" Sirius rushed to her as she fell on hard on the ground.

"You hit Gwen!" Sirius said indignantly, swinging his fists at the man.

The man threw Sirius on the ground as well and he landed besides Gwen. "Pesky little kids," he growled.

Seeing Sirius also thrown on the ground, Gwen sprang back up and ran toward the man with indignant cry. She kicked as high as her short legs would allow and he fell to the ground groaning with pain as her feet made contact between his legs.

"RUN!"

Gwen helped Sirius back up and the two ran back in the opposite direction.

Panting, the two hid behind a brick wall and peeked out to make sure the man wasn't following.

"Thanks," Sirius panted.

Gwen grinned back at him. "What are friends for?" she said, squeezing his hand.

**[End of flashback**

Even if his parents had told him when they brought him back, it wouldn't have stopped his love. If they had told him then, when he would have been unable to comprehend his love for Gwen nor comprehend the concept of love itself, it would have merely tainted it…poisoned it.

Too young to know what love was, if faced with the knowledge that such feelings were wrong, his love would have been poisoned by this knowledge before he could even realize that it had been love. It would have become unrecognizably twisted and warped and he wouldn't have been able to cope with it.

It was better to know now, when he could at least understand, even if he still couldn't cope with it.

Gwen walked through the bathroom into his room, smiling brightly at him and Sirius barely managed to keep from grimacing.  
It almost pained him to look at her now. To look at her beautiful, angelic face and to know that she was his _sister_.

Because it meant his love for her was wrong. How could something as pure, something as beautiful and powerful as love be this wrong?

"Let's go," said Gwen.  
"Snuffles," she called, looking under Sirius' bed.

"I don't think we should take Snuffles with us today," said Sirius as Snuffles came bounding into his room. "He's been a bit tired out lately."

"Um, okay," said Gwen, watching an energetic Snuffles jumping on Sirius.

"Stay," Sirius said as Snuffles began to follow them out of the room.

Snuffles began to whine piteously and Sirius sighed.  
"I need to be alone with her right now. You understand, don't you?" he said softly to Snuffles.

Snuffles barked softly in understanding.  
"Thanks pal," smiled Sirius.

Twenty minutes later, he and Gwen were by the lake. Sirius transfigured a rock into a small wooden row boat big enough for two.

"We're going to row?" said Gwen curiously. They had never gone rowing before; it had always been rafting.

"Rafting is for fooling and splashing around," Sirius explained. "And _I'm_ going to row. _You're_ going to enjoy the scenery."

"Er-alright," said Gwen. _Since when had Sirius been so… sentimental?_

Gwen climbed into the wooden boat and Sirius sat directly across from and picked up the paddles.  
Gwen relaxed as Sirius swiftly paddled and they smoothly glided into the lake. "You're right. This is even better than rafting."  
She smiled as she watched Sirius. Watching the smooth movement of his arms, the ease with which he moved, the shadows cast on his face by the sun overhead.

Sirius looked up as he felt her gaze on him and smiled, belying his heartache. Though the shadows hid his face, it was directly shining in Gwen's face and her cheery smile only served to deepen his heartache.  
"I told you to watch the scenery, not me," he said lightly.

"It's not my fault I can't resist," Gwen replied with a wink.

They rowed through the lake and continued as it merged into the sea where the cave was located. They rowed through the dark cave and climbed out of the boat when they arrived at the island.

"Anything you want to do?" Sirius asked as he held a hand out to help her out of the boat.

"Let's go exploring since you're so into scenery today. Or we could go biking. Explore and ride at the same time," said Gwen.

Sirius nodded. "Sounds good."

They walked to the small hut in the middle of the island where they had kept their bikes. Sirius, Gwen, and Regulus had built the hut over the holidays last year and it was pretty good quality if they said so themselves.

They approached the door and Sirius stepped forward to give the password. It had been his turn to make up a password and though he had found it extremely amusing at the time, it merely sickened him now. "Slytherin sucks."

The door swung open and they entered their spare room to retrieve their bikes. They led the bikes out onto the path and began to ride side by side.

"Gwen, promise me something?" Sirius called softly.

"Of course. Anything for you," Gwen replied.

"Promise me that even if…if something happens to me or I can't be by your side anymore, that you won't forget," said Sirius.

"What do you mean if something happens to you? What's wrong, Sirius?" Gwen asked anxiously.

"Nothing. I'm just saying…just in case," Sirius said assuringly. "Promise you won't forget."

"Forget what?" asked Gwen.

Sirius smiled wistfully. "This day, this moment. Even if I'm not besides you anymore, even if our Houses divide us, I want to you remember today, this moment and remember that no matter what…I love you."

Gwen nodded fervently. "I'll remember."

_Good, because in times to come, both of us will need today to look back on_, Sirius thought sadly.

_Our last day together…_

As they were riding along the path, they felt light drops of rain beginning to fall.

Sirius looked up at the sky then turned to Gwen. "Let's go back to the hut," he said.

"Alright," said Gwen.

They turned their bikes around and began to pedal as fast as they could to get out of the rain which was starting to pour down. Just as they were within sight of the hut, Gwen's bike ran over a small rock and skid in the muddy water that had gathered because of the rain. The bike flew through the air, depositing Gwen twenty feet away.

"Gwen!" Sirius immediately flew to her side, leaping off his own bike and leaving it unceremoniously on the muddy ground.

"I-I'm alright," said Gwen.

She slowly attempted to stand up but crumpled back to the ground, her hand flying to her left leg. Tears of pain filled her eyes and overflowed, mingling with the rain.

"What's wrong? Did you break something?" Sirius asked anxiously.

"I think my leg is broken," said Gwen.

Without another word, Sirius picked her up bridal style and ran for the hut.

Once they were inside, Sirius dried both of them then healed Gwen's leg under her guidance. Gwen was usually the one who healed the injuries the Marauders acquired during full moon and she was getting to be a very capable Healer.

"Do you feel better now?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, much better. Thanks," Gwen replied, smiling her appreciation at him.

Gwen stood and headed to the door and Sirius followed after her. Once outside, they watched the rain pouring in front of them, standing under the shelter of the mini roof over them. Watching the pouring rain was an activity that they enjoyed together. As Gwen had once said, though they found light drizzling or rain a bit depressing, it was somewhat refreshing to watch it pouring down.

Gwen inhaled deeply and let out a contented sigh. "I love the scent of rain," she said.

The scent of rain... It was another one of those inside moments between the two of them.

"Yes, me too. So fresh, isn't it?" said Sirius, also breathing in.

The rain stopped as suddenly as it started and they watched as the sun began to shine over the island.

"Look Gwen, a rainbow," said Sirius, pointing to the sky over the large cherry tree in front of their hut.

Gwen admired the rainbow for a few moments before she spoke. "You know what I think a rainbow is? I think a rainbow is the entrance to Heaven," she said dreamily.

"What do you think happens if you go to Heaven?" Sirius asked.

"Hmm…Heaven is supposed to be a perfect world, isn't it?" said Gwen.

"A perfect world…a world with no sadness or pain. A world with no separation," Sirius said wistfully.

"No sorrow? I don't know about that. As much as I dislike sorrow, don't you think that it's sort of a necessity? If one experiences sorrow, wouldn't the joy that one experiences afterwards be that much greater?" Gwen said pensively.  
"If everything is only happiness, it would become bland and worthless," she said.

"You're right. Sorrow does add excitement to life," Sirius agreed.  
"But there would be no separation. A perfect world where I would never be forced to say goodbye again. I would never have to leave or be left behind," he said.

Gwen looked sorrowfully at him. Was he remembering his dead parents? Perhaps he too had recovered his memory the way she had?

"I suppose things would be different beyond the rainbow? Things would change?" said Sirius.

"I suppose," Gwen agreed. "Something has to change or it can't really be _called_ Heaven," she said.

"Even so, even if everything has changed, my heart would remain unchanged," said Sirius.  
He looked into her deep eyes, willing her to comprehend the double meaning in his words. That change would soon come upon them. That everything yet nothing would change between them. However she seemed unable to understand, or rather, she chose not to.

Gwen smiled. Yes, Sirius understood. He always did.

* * *

**July 28, 1977 ****Wednesday,****12:40 AM**

Regulus was walking by Gwen's room, past midnight, when he glimpsed a dark figure sitting by her bed through the slightly ajar door.

Regulus began to open the door, slightly alarmed, when he recognized Sirius' voice.

What in the world were Sirius and Gwen up to at nearly one in the morning?

_Probably hatching up a major prank of some sort, _Regulus thought with amusement. Then he realized that Gwen was asleep and that Sirius' voice was _wavering_, as if he was on the verge of _crying_.

_But Sirius __**never**__ cried_, Regulus thought with astonishment.  
It was one of the thing he respected most in Sirius; his strength.  
Even when they were children, Sirius had never cried while he, Regulus, had cried at the drop of a hat, to the disgust of their father who had thought of tears as a weakness.

"You say that you know Slytherins," Sirius was saying, "but I'm afraid that your knowledge will only serve to blind you to the truth."  
"You mustn't forget, that Slytherins are known for their slyness, their cunning," he said. "Cunning, which can serve as a mask, so that not even their closest can see what truly lies beneath."

"And sometimes, sometimes people can change," Sirius said wistfully. "And I'm afraid that, because you know them, you'll fall into denial. That you'll refuse to accept the truth…that they aren't the same people you knew."

Sirius paused and an agonized look came over his countenance. "But I'm more afraid that you _will_ accept it…and the truth, it'll hurt you. The truth will destroy you."

"I hope I'm wrong. I hope that you're right and I'm merely underestimating Slytherins," Sirius said earnestly.  
"For your sake, I hope I'm wrong."

"Goodbye, Starr. Take care," Sirius gently kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Regulus nearly gasped as he glimpsed Sirius face as he stood up. Even in the darkness, the intense sorrow and anguish on his face was unmistakable.

_What was going on?_ Regulus watched Sirius as he headed back to his room through the bathroom that connected his room with Gwen's.

"Goodbye, Sirius," Regulus said softly.  
"I love you," he said sadly.

* * *

**July 28, 1977 ****Wednesday,****2:50 AM**

Sirius opened his door which was directly across the hall from Regulus'.

Sirius stepped through the door to Regulus' room and looked around the room illuminated by the moonlight.

He gently picked up the snitch picture frame that Regulus kept on his desk.  
Over the frame glass was their family picture but no one, save Regulus himself, had ever seen the picture underneath the glass, hidden by the family picture.

Sirius smiled; he and Gwen had a bet going about the picture underneath. He said that it was probably some girl Regulus was infatuated with and Gwen said that it was definitely something else though exactly what, she refused to say.

Sirius traced the outline of the family picture; it was a picture taken the year before he had started Hogwarts. Back when their family had been peaceful and perfectly happy.  
He gave the picture one last longing look before he turned to the bed where Regulus lay, sound asleep.

"Goodbye, Reg. I love you too."

* * *

**July 28, 1977 ****Wednesday,****3:10 AM**

Sirius silently crept through the house to the front door when he suddenly heard his mother's voice from behind him.  
"Where do you think you're going, young man?" she shrieked, waking up the entire household.

_Damn,_ he thought. _I've forgotten about that bloody portrait in the hallway. _

"Yes, where are you going at this time of night, Sirius?" said Orion, who had Apparated behind him in his nightrobes.

"I'm sorry, Dad," said Sirius, "but I can't stay here with her any longer."

"Who?" Orion frowned, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, who?" Walburga said silkily, appearing behind him.

"You know who," Sirius said viciously. "I know everything. I know what really happened that night twelve years ago."  
"And I know why," he finished softly.

Neither needed to ask him which night he was referring to. It was the night that stood out the most vividly in their memories. The night that had never ceased to haunt them.

"Sirius," said Orion, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Why did you go along with her lie, Dad?" Sirius asked desolately. "Why did I have to grow up not even knowing my true parentage?"

Orion sighed but all he replied was, "I'm sorry, Sirius."  
_Not yet…it's too soon. If only you'd made your discovery a few years later… I could have told you everything then. But its not time yet. In a few years…_

Sirius nodded before turning to leave once more.

"Sirius!" Gwen cried, scrambling down the stairs.  
"Please, don't go. Stay with me," she pled, hugging him around the middle.

Sirius hesitated.  
He knew that it was out of question that he stay but perhaps he could ask Gwen to come with him. Yes, it was painful to look at her, to be with her, but surely it was better than to not see her at all?

But then he saw the smirk on his mother's face. The glint of triumph satisfaction in her eyes. And Sirius finally realized just how dangerous of a person his mother was.  
_Gwen was his vulnerable point and she knew it, _he realized.

_And she'll use Gwen to get to me if necessary. Her own precious daughter, _Sirius thought, sickened.

But then, it shouldn't have surprised him. She had denounced her son, why not her daughter as well?

Sirius pried her arms away from him and stepped back. "From this moment on, you and I are strangers, _Black_," Sirius said viciously before turning away and finally leaving Grimmauld Place.

* * *


	16. Unexpected Revelations

**Chapter 14: Unexpected Revelations.**

**July 28, 1977 Thursday, 8:14 AM**

Dorea Potter pushed open the door of the room where her only son, James, was sleeping.  
"Wake up, James dear. Time for breakfast," she said briskly.

"Not yet Lily," James mumbled into his pillow.

Dorea laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you but its only your old mum," she said.

James cracked opened a eye and peered up at her. "Marvelous to see you again, Mum," he said brightly.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure. Sweet dreams, I take it?" she asked.

James blushed. "So what's for breakfast?" he asked eagerly, changing the subject.

"Your favorite," Dorea replied. "So hurry up and come downstairs before they get cold."

"Sure thing."

Five minutes later James headed into the dining room where his parents were already eating their breakfast.

"What's wrong, Dorea?" asked Charlus, noting her disturbed expression.

"Nothing. I just get the feeling that someone's calling for me," Dorea replied.

James blinked at her. "Who could be calling for you, Mum?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone is at the door," said Dorea.

She got up from the table and headed to the door. She pulled the door open and let out a gasp of surprise as she saw Sirius sleeping on the steps.

"Sirius, what on earth are you doing sleeping outside? Come on in," Dorea exclaimed, shaking him awake.

Sirius had come to Godric's Hollows, instinctively, since it was where he usually ran to whenever he had troubles with his mother.  
But this time, he hadn't been able to go in. How could he? How could he go to the Potters when it was his mother who had killed Dorea Potter's sister and brother-in-law?

"Did you know?" Sirius asked dully, avoiding her eyes.

"Know what?" Dorea asked, puzzled.

"That I'm not really adopted? That the Blacks were my parents all along?" said Sirius.

Dorea jerked back with surprise. "So they've finally told you?"

"No, I overheard," said Sirius.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

Dorea sighed. "We were forbidden to tell you. Since they are your parents, we had to follow their wishes."

Sirius nodded.

"Did you also know that she was the one who had them killed?" Sirius said flatly.

"So you know that too…" Dorea said softly, her eyes widening.  
"We always had our suspicions," she admitted, "but were never able find any evidence."

"Don't you hate me? Don't you want revenge?" Sirius said suddenly. "_My__mother_ did it. They would be alive right now if it hadn't been for my mother. You would have your sister with you."  
"And Chris, Karen, and Diana would have their parents," he added remorsefully.

"Sirius, listen to me," Dorea said firmly. "You are not accountable for your mother's actions. None of what happened is your fault. Besides, you were only five years old when it happened. There was absolutely nothing you could have done."

"It_is_ my fault though. She did it because she wanted me," said Sirius.

"I don't believe that," Dorea said quietly.  
"You are merely a victim of your mother's greed and ambition. You are not the reason for what she did; you just happened to get caught up in it."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked curiously.

"You were merely her excuse. She'd always envied Cassiopeia and I believe she simply wanted her out of the way," said Dorea, her eyes turning icy.

"Envied?"

"Yes," said Dorea. Her eyes softened as she looked at Sirius and she hesitated. "I really don't know if I should be the one to tell you this but I suppose it is necessary for you to understand."

Sirius looked curiously at her and silently waited for her to go on.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but well, before your father met your mother, he was engaged to Cassiopeia," said Dorea.

Sirius' jaw dropped. "My _father_ and _Mum_?" he asked, then laughed, realizing how absurd his statement sounded.

Nevertheless, Dorea understood and she nodded.

"So what happened? They fell in love with different people?" Sirius asked.

"No. If only they had..." Dorea said sadly.  
"I don't think they ever stopped though…at least Cassiopeia didn't, up till the very end."

"It was my mother, wasn't it? She came between them," Sirius said flatly.  
"Why am I not surprised? How like her," he said bitterly. "So what did she do?"

Dorea "It's not important. What's done is done," she said gently.

"Tell me, _please_. I need to know," said Sirius.

Dorea sighed. "She told Cassiopeia that she was pregnant with Orion's child through a drunken accident."

"What?!" Sirius shouted, then frowned. "But that doesn't make sense. Chris is older than I am."

"Yes, she lied of course. But Cassiopeia didn't know that. Walburga was family, she didn't dream that she would make up such a lie. In her despair she turned to Harrison for comfort and by the time it was revealed that Walburga had lied, she was already pregnant with Chris. There was no other option than for her to marry him after that," said Dorea.

"But why would my father marry my mother after she'd ruined his life?" said Sirius.

"You're right. Your father would never have married her after what she had done. Finally she took advantage of him when he was drunk and got pregnant with you and Gwen," Dorea finished.

Sirius blanched. "She really would do anything to get what she wants, wouldn't she?"  
He looked up at her, his countenance turbulent. "What if I become like her? I have her blood, and you know what they say. That blood doesn't deceive."

"That's not true, Sirius," Dorea protested.

"Weren't you ever afraid that I might turn out to be like her?" asked Sirius.

"Never," Dorea said firmly.  
"That 'blood doesn't deceive' line is nonsense. And even if it were so, don't forget that you are still your father's son."

"My father? I never had the impression that you so fond of him," Sirius said wryly.

"Your father is a good person. Personally we've always clashed because of our beliefs but I've always wished that things had worked out between him and Cassiopeia," said Dorea.

"Well, I can't exactly wish that seeing as how I wouldn't have been born then," Sirius commented.

Dorea smiled. "No, of course not. You know, your father and Cassiopeia were very close growing up. Much like you and Gwen. I can't imagine what it must be like for your father, seeing the two of you," she said sympathetically.  
"It must be like seeing himself and Cassiopeia."

Sirius nodded. It was all starting to make sense now. How his father had always seemed merely put up with his mother while she was always so eager to please him. How his father who could be so warm with everyone else when he wished was so cold towards his own wife.  
And how many times growing up had he seen his father watching him and Gwen with that wistful expression?

Aunt Dorea had said that watching him and Gwen must have been like watching Orion himself and Cassiopeia. And she was right, to the last detail.  
Because he and Gwen were another pair that could never be.

* * *

**July 28, 1977 Thursday, 8:13 AM**

Regulus entered Sirius room where Gwen was sitting listlessly in an armchair.  
"Where's Sirius?" he asked.

"He left," Gwen replied dully.

_Already?_  
"Why?" he asked, feigning curiosity. But of course he already knew why. It was because of their mother.

Gwen shrugged.

"What did Sirius say before he left?" asked Regulus.

Gwen replied in the same dull voice. "He said we're strangers from now on..." she trailed off, looking blankly at the wall in front of her.

_Why would Sirius __**say**__ such a thing?_ Regulus wondered. Then he recalled what Sirius had said to him two days previously. _'Don't let her hurt her…'_

Of course. Sirius thought that Mother might hurt Gwen. But would she_really_ do that? She obviously was capable of doing so since she had hurt Sirius but then she had also made it clear that she wasn't particularly fond of him. Her feelings for Gwen were blatantly different…

_I'm not taking any chances,_ Regulus decided. Sirius would never forgive him if he allowed their mother to do anything to Gwen, and neither would he.

* * *

**August 1, 1977 Monday, 8:01 AM**

Gwen went down to the dining room where her parents and Regulus were starting breakfast. As Gwen entered the room, the tension in the room increased since Sirius and Gwen usually came down to breakfast together.

Ignoring Orion's fierce stare in her direction, Walburga smiled at Gwen and cheerfully said, as if nothing was wrong, "You got your letter from Hogwarts, dear."

Gwen took the letter from her and opened the seal, taking out the two letters and a badge.

"Did you get Head girl?" Walburga asked eagerly.

"No. Quidditch Captain," Gwen replied with a slight smile.

"First in the family!" Walburga said proudly.

There was a long shocked silence and to everyone's surprise, it was Regulus who spoke up first.

"You mean second. Just because Sirius isn't with us doesn't mean he's not still part of the family," Regulus said in a hard voice.  
"Just because you burned him off the tapestry it doesn't mean you can erase him from the family."

Walburga looked momentarily stunned that her passive, obedient son had spoken so to her but her face quickly contorted with anger. "Fine! All I have to do is leave and Sirius can come back!" she shrieked before leaving the room, taking the tension with her.

Orion turned to Gwen with a smile. "Congratulations. I knew you'd make it," he said proudly.

"Yes. Everyone knew it was between you and Lucius anyway," said Regulus.

"Well, this calls for a treat. How about a new broom when we go pick up your schoolbooks?" Orion said.

"Sure, Dad," Gwen said enthusiastically, then turned to Regulus.

"Which broom do you recommend, Reg?"

"Do you even need to ask? The Nimbus 1700 came out last month. Perfect timing, I'd say," Regulus replied.

Regulus caught a glimpse of wistfulness in Gwen's eyes despite her excited smile. He reached over and squeezed her arm reassuringly. "Sirius will be proud," he told her.

Gwen smiled and nodded. Somehow, he had known exactly what she had wanted to hear.

---

After breakfast, Gwen headed up the flight of stairs and stopped at the door closer to the landing, entering Sirius' room. Everything was exactly as it had been three days ago. The bed was messy and unmade, the armchair was still in it's place near the window, and the Gryffindor banner and Muggle posters filling the wall remained in its place. It was only when she opened the wardrobe that signs of his absence was revealed. His trunk, clothes, broom, and books were all missing.

Gwen closed the closet door and reached for the picture on top of his desk. It had been taken only weeks ago, right after summer vacation had started, and showed her, Sirius, and Regulus in front of their hut in Echo Island.

"Guess what? I got Quidditch captain too," Gwen said, looking down at the picture.

Sirius waved at her from the photo, grinning widely.

"I knew you'd be happy for me," she said sadly.

* * *

**August 1, 1977 Monday, 8:05 AM**

James was with Sirius in his room, trying to coax him to talk. It was highly unusual for Sirius to clam up and he was getting worried.

James heard a tapping on the window and looked up to see two tawny owls at the window. He opened the window and retrieved the Hogwarts letters that they were delivering.

James opened the letter addressed to him and glanced at the list of supplies. He then began to read the second parchment and immediately burst out laughing.

"Ha ha. Guess what, Padfoot? I'm Head boy," said James, still laughing.

Sirius smiled weakly. "Nice try, Prongs."

"No, really. I'm Head boy," James said, shoving his letter under Sirius' nose.

Sirius read the letter and began to laugh as well but it wasn't his usual bark-like laughter. It sounded unnatural, even a bit hysterical, as though he was laughing simply because he couldn't cry.

It was then that James realized with a pang that he had never seen Sirius cry.

* * *

**August 3, 1977 Wednesday, 2:30 PM**

Gwen and Regulus were sitting on Sirius' bed playing, or rather attempting to play, Wizarding chess.

Both were playing dreadfully and Gwen was both winning and losing spectacularly.

Regulus suddenly looked at his watch. "Oh no. I was supposed to meet Morgan at the Leaky Cauldron," he said, referring to his girlfriend Morgan Dolohov.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get going," said Gwen.

Regulus looked at her with concern. "Will you be alright?"

"Don't be ridiculous. It's not like I'm dying," Gwen snapped, but somehow it came out feebly.

"You sure don't look like it," Regulus muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Regulus said hastily then rushed to the fireplace.

Morgan was sitting at the end of the pub and Regulus greeted her with a bright smile.

After a brief kiss they each ordered a butterbeer and headed out of the pub where they sat under a shade and began to drink.

"Nice weather today," Regulus commented, looking up at the clear sky.

"I suppose. It's been like this all week though," Morgan replied.

"Has it? Must have been nice. It's been raining nonstop at home," said Regulus.

"What's wrong, Regulus?" said Morgan, glancing sideways at him.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Regulus replied, grinning at her.

Morgan didn't reply but leaned her head against his shoulder. "You know, I've never once seen you cry. You always seem so strong," she said.

"Do I?" Regulus smiled faintly. "Would you believe me if I told you that I'd cried very easily when I was younger?"

"Did you?" Morgan inquired.

"You would laugh, but I was very sensitive when I was younger," Regulus said matter-of-factly.

"That's strange. The Regulus I know isn't sensitive at all," said Morgan. "You always appear so aloof and unemotional..."

Regulus stared into the distance for a moment before he spoke again. "I had a friend. We were four when her parents passed away. Naturally she was devastated by their deaths but I was helpless to help her. All I could do was cry with her."

"That's not true," Morgan said suddenly. "Sometimes the best you can do for someone is to cry with her."

"You think so? I would certainly like to think so," said Regulus wistfully.  
He let out a deep sigh. "She's always been on my mind, all these years. I can't forget the way she fell apart during the funeral. She lost everything; her parents, her siblings, her old life…I can't imagine how she would have coped."

Regulus stared unseeingly at his bottle of butterbeer before continuing. "I couldn't cry after that. After that kind of experience, there wasn't much worth crying over. My own problems were always so trivial compared to the tragedy she had suffered."

Morgan squeezed his hand. "What's wrong, Regulus? You're usually not one to dwell the past," she said with concern.

Regulus shrugged. "I guess I'm just overemotional what with Sirius running away and all," he said.

The look of concern was immediately replaced with one of annoyance.

"Sirius ran away?"

"Didn't I mention it? He ran away last week," Regulus told her.

"Good riddance," Morgan burst out contemptuously, with relief.

"What did you say?" Regulus asked with disbelief.

"It's okay, you don't have to be ashamed," said Morgan reassuringly.

"I'm not ashamed," Regulus snapped.

"It's okay, no one holds responsible for your brother's actions," Morgan said soothingly.

"Unfortunately, these disgrace turn up in the best of families," she added in a disgusted tone.

"Don't insult my brother," Regulus said dangerously.

Morgan shot him a offended look. "Are you pushing me away because of your family pride? I thought we were closer than that," she said sulkily.

"I don't give a damn about my family pride!" Regulus interrupted her.  
"You can say what you want about my family. You can say what you want about _me_," he hissed, "but don't talk of Sirius that way. _Don't you dare insult my brother!"_

"What, you're going to choose that bloodtraitor brother of yours over me?" Morgan said derisively. "When has he ever been anything but cold towards you, just for being in Slytherin?"

"Don't speak of what you don't know! What do you know about my relationship with Sirius?" Regulus snarled.

"Sirius Black, the black sheep of the Blacks. Your family disgrace. The abomina—" Morgan continued as if he hadn't spoken and was cut off as he swiftly slapped her across the face.

"Sirius isn't a disgrace. We have our differences, but he's still my brother, whatever Mother says. And I'm proud to have him as my brother," Regulus said defiantly.

Morgan snorted. "Proud," she repeated derisively.

"What do you have against my brother?" Regulus said darkly.

"Other than the fact that he's a bloodtraitor?" Morgan said dryly.

"Don't lie! I should have known from the very beginning," said Regulus fiercely.  
"There was always something strange about you and Sirius. It's not simply because he's a bloodtraitor!"

"Don't be ridiculous. What other reason would I have?" Morgan said testily.

"I don't know. You tell me," Regulus retorted.

"I was watching you on your first day and I saw you spot Sirius. I've never seen you look at anyone with as much hatred as you did at him, and that was before you knew who he was. I told myself that I must have imagined it; you didn't even know him. And of course it could have been anyone at the Gryffindor table. Over the past year, you constantly proved me wrong and I occasionally saw that expression resurface. I told myself again and again that I was deluding myself. But now I realize. I _have_ been deluding myself."

"It's not what you think," said Morgan firmly.

"You could had anyone amongst the Slytherins but you never once looked at any of them. Right from the beginning you came to me. I should have known there was something fishy about that. Love at first sight, my arse." Regulus snorted.

"That's because there's always only been you for me," Morgan insisted.

"You approached me because of Sirius in the first place, didn't you?" Regulus accused, cutting her off.

Morgan glared at him, her eyes flashing. "Now you're _really_ being absurd. My hatred towards him has nothing to do with what I feel for you," she said.

"Nothing to do with it? How can it have nothing to do with it? He's my brother. We share blood, no matter how reluctant you are to admit it," said Regulus.  
"Tell me, how is it possible for someone to hate one brother and love the other? It's not possible."

"Where are you going?" Morgan demanded as Regulus abruptly got up to leave.

"We're over," Regulus replied curtly.

"What?!" Morgan shrieked incredulously. "You're going to end things between us because of Sirius?"

"No, not because of my brother. Because of you. You're not the person I thought you were, Morgan," said Regulus.

Moran watched him leave, her hazel eyes dark with fury. "You can't leave," she said quietly. "I won't let you."

* * *

**August 12, 1977 Friday, 7:45 PM**

Remus sat in his room, looking down at the picture he held in his hand.

Today was the anniversary of the day he had been bitten. The anniversary of Romulus' death.

Yes, they had been twins named Remus and Romulus. He had always found that a strange coincidence. That they had been named after the Roman founders who had been raised by a wolf and that he had become a werewolf. At times, he even thought that perhaps it had been the inevitable after they had been named so.

But also according to the legend, it should been he, Remus, who should have died. Romulus should have lived.

Remus looked down at the picture in his hand. It was a picture taken on their fourth birthday with their parents on either side of them.  
The two boys were so identical that even Remus himself couldn't tell which one was himself and which was Romulus.

His mother came into the room and sat besides him. She peered down at the picture with a soft wistful smile.

"I wonder which one is Romulus," Remus said softly.

"Romulus is the one next to your dad. You're the one next to me," his mother immediately told him.

"How did you know that?" Remus asked curiously.

She smiled. "Mothers know."

She stood up and briskly said, "Come on. We're going to go out for dinner tonight."

---

A hour later, Remus and his parents had just finished their dinner at the local restaurant and were preparing to leave when a middle-aged lady approached them.

"John, Emma," she said stiffly then turned to Remus.

"You must Remus," she said warmly and added," You look just like your mother, dear."

His parents stiffened but didn't comment.

"Well, that's a first. People usually say that I look nothing like Mum," Remus said as he looked fondly at his mother.

"If by 'Mum' you're referring to _her_," the woman shot his mother a dirty look, "then of course you don't look like her."

"Sofia!" his father said warningly.  
"Come on, we're leaving," he said to Remus and Emma.

But Remus sat rooted to his seat.  
"What is she talking about?" he asked his parents, then turned to the woman who had just intruded upon their dinner. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Remus. She doesn't know what she's talking about," said John, glaring at Sofia.  
"That's enough, Sofia," he said harshly.

Sofia laughed coldly. "Ashamed to admit your past, John? Ashamed for your son to know that his father abandoned his own mother for a whore? Or perhaps you're _afraid_ for him to know…?" she said silkily.

Remus was now looking at his mother with a betrayed expression. "Is that true? You're not my mother?" he said.

Sofia opened her mouth once more but John interrupted.. "Not another word, Sofia," he hissed.

Instead of being cowed, Sofia merely looked more incensed. "No, John, I refuse to remain silent! How dare you keep Amy a secret from her own son!" she shrieked.

And how dare you make Amy's son call _her_'Mum'," Sofia pointed contemptuously at Emma, "when she's the one who came between you and Amy? She's the reason Amy was forced to leave and driven to suicide!"

Remus stared at his parents in disbelief as Sofia stormed away.  
"Is that true?" he finally asked.

"It's not what you think, Remus," said John quickly.

"I asked you! IS IT TRUE!" Remus bellowed.

His parents looked momentarily stunned at their soft-spoken son's outburst, and Emma who had been watching Remus with a panicked expression from the moment of Sofia's arrival finally spoke up.

"Remus, let me explain," Emma pled.

"Explain what, _Emma_?" Remus said icily.

"Don't speak to your mother that way, Remus!" said John as Emma gasped.

"Who's my mother?" Remus said coldly. "_She's_ not my mother; she's merely a homewrecker!"  
"And to think, all this time I've been calling the woman who caused my mother's death my mum. I don't know how I'll ever ask my _**true**_ mother for forgiveness," said Remus before he also ran out of the restaurant.

"Remus! Remus!" Emma cried as John comforted her.

* * *

**August 13, 1977 Saturday, 12:03 AM**

Sirius grumbled as he awoke to the sound of a constant _'PING PLING'._ He grudgingly got out of bed and headed to the window where the sound was coming from. Sliding the window open, he gingerly stuck his head out of it to inspect the source of the noise.

"Ow!" Sirius exclaimed as a small pebble struck him in the forehead.

"Sirius?"

"Remus?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here…at one in the morning?" Sirius retorted.

"Actually, it's only around midnight," Remus said casually, checking his watch.

"That's beside the point!" Sirius growled. "Come on, I'll let you in," he added.

Five minutes later, Sirius had opened the door for Remus and had led him to his room. Amongst the many spare rooms, this room was reserved for Sirius and the Potters had had it decorated it to his liking.

'Mother would have been furious,' Sirius thought wryly, once again eying the entwined green and red of the room.

The room was a sort of symbol of what Sirius secretly longed for, deep down. A world in which Slytherin and Gryffindor could coexist peacefully. A world in which he wasn't a bloodtraitor and his family pureblood fanatics. A world where he and Gwen could be together without the constant obstacles which ceaselessly reminded him that he was a Gryffindor and she a Slytherin.

The walls were a rich shade of green while the carpet were a deep maroon. The bedspread on his bed was currently silver though it had been charmed to alter between the four colors every day. By the window, there were two armchairs, one a dark shade of red and the other emerald green while the picture frames on his desk were made of solid gold. On the middle of the wall was a framed painting that Sirius himself had painted.

The portrait showed a image of the magnificent Gryffindor lion entwined with the glorious Slytherin serpent.

All in all, it was like a product of the two common rooms smashed together.

James usually joked that Sirius' room was like having Christmas year round.

As he entered the room, Remus curiously observed the room, having seen it for the first time, then turned back to Sirius.

"So…"

"You want to talk about it?" asked Sirius.

"I'd rather not—yes," said Remus as he changed his mind.

Remus quickly recapitulated the meeting with Sofia and his new discovery. When he had finished, there was a short silence before Sirius gave a wry laugh.

"Life's funny isn't it?" Sirius said sarcastically. "You're distraught because you've just discovered that your mum isn't really your mother and I'm distraught because I've just discovered my mum really _is_ my mother."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked with confusion.

Sirius paused before finally revealing the secret he had been keeping for years. "I was five when my parents died. My mother was—is—Aunt Dorea's sister."

"So…you and James are cousins?"

"We were," Sirius corrected.

"You_were_? How is that possible?" asked Remus, his face twisting with perplexion.

"When my parents passed away, I was adopted by the Blacks," said Sirius, "and for years, I lived with them thinking that they were my adoptive parents."

"And then?"

"And then I discovered that _they_ were actually my biological parents. I was switched with the Davisons' baby." Sirius laughed incredulously. "Switched at birth…"

"That's good, isn't it?" Remus asked hesitantly, bemused by his reaction. "I mean, other than your mum, you get along well with the rest of your family."

"No…that means Gwen and I are really twins," Sirius said hollowly.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Remus stopped, his eyes widening as a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Unless? Merlin…" he breathed.

"What?" Sirius demanded.

"Are you and Gwen _going out_?" Remus asked, looking utterly taken aback by the idea.

Despite the fact that the look of shock on Remus' face was extremely comical, Sirius didn't laugh but stared blankly back at him.  
"I wish. It's only one-sided love on my part. Gwen has always thought that we were twins because our parents obliviated her memory," he replied dully.

Remus nodded. "That explains a lot," he said thoughtfully.

"It does?" asked Sirius.

"Yes," Remus replied.  
_Somehow, I get the feeling that Gwen didn't quite forget after all, _he thought sympathetically

"How did our lives get so _twisted_?" Remus whispered to himself.

* * *


End file.
